WASHINGTON

The US Department of Justice sued Facebook Thursday over allegations the social media company side-stepped visa rules to discriminate against US workers for over 2,600 positions.  

The department accused Facebook of failing to consider "qualified and available U.S. workers" for jobs that were given to foreign workers.

The department said in a statement that following a two-year investigation it determined "Facebook intentionally created a hiring system in which it denied qualified U.S. workers a fair opportunity to learn about and apply for jobs that Facebook instead sought to channel to temporary visa holders Facebook wanted to sponsor for green cards."

The illegal hiring tactics included failing to post job openings on Facebook's careers website, and requiring applicants to apply by physical mail, the department said, alleging they dated back to at least 2018 and ran through September 2019.

Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division said there should no question about the intent behind the Facebook lawsuit.

"Our message to workers is clear: if companies deny employment opportunities by illegally preferring temporary visa holders, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable," he said. "Our message to all employers — including those in the technology sector — is clear: you cannot illegally prefer to recruit, consider, or hire temporary visa holders over U.S. workers."

The positions in question pay roughly $156,000, according to the Justice Department.