Social-Media
Facebook is being investigated for ‘systemic' racial disparity in recruiting and promotions.
According to Reuters, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is investigating claims of racial profiling and hiring practices at Facebook, a probe that the department has labeled "systemic."
Oscar Veneszee, Jr., a Black Facebook employee, filed a complaint with the EEOC in July, along with two people Veneszee hired but Facebook did not hire. According to the lawsuit, the social media site discriminates against Black job seekers and workers while also encouraging racial stereotypes. According to Veneszee, Facebook has a "Black people epidemic" and has struggled to develop a community that attracts and retains Black employees.
According to Reuters, the EEOC has not filed any charges against Facebook, and the agency's investigation does not uncover any evidence of wrongdoing on the company's part. According to Reuters, the EEOC's classification of the investigation as "systemic" means the agency believes Facebook's hiring practices are leading to systematic discrimination, and such a designation could pave the way for a class action lawsuit. The EEOC did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment on Saturday.
The complaint is similar to previous complaints about Facebook's diversity. Mark Luckie, Facebook's then-partnerships boss, released an internal memo sent to his coworkers on his last day at the company in 2018.
The complaint is similar to previous complaints about Facebook's diversity. Mark Luckie, Facebook's then-partnerships boss, released an internal memo on his last day at the company in 2018, in which he said the company mistreated its Black employees.
There are more ‘Black Lives Matter' signs in some buildings than there are real black people, Luckie wrote. Facebook can't claim to be linking communities if those communities aren't fairly reflected in its workforce.
According to Facebook's 2020 diversity report, the organization is still short of its target of having 50% of its employees from underrepresented groups by 2024; the number increased from 43% in 2019 to 45.3 percent in 2020. Employees at Facebook held a virtual walkout last June in protest of the company's decision not to take action against former President Trump's tweets, including one that contained the expression when the looting begins, the shooting starts, which was interpreted as a warning against people protesting racial violence around the country last summer.
In an email to The Verge on Saturday, a Facebook spokesperson said, We believe it is important to provide all workers with a respectful and healthy working atmosphere. Any accusation of discrimination is taken seriously by us, and we investigate each case.
