Complaint over racial discrimination, Facebook under probe for 'systematic bias' in hiring

San Francisco: The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is probing whether Facebook has engaged in systemic bias and racial discrimination in hiring and promotions, says a Forbes report.

According to the report, The EEOC is now investigating whether there is widespread and "systematic" racial discrimination in hiring and promotions at the social network, following a complaint filed by an employee and two job applicants.

A Black manager and two Black applicants who were rejected by Facebook filed the EEOC complaint.

The complainants alleged that the social network "discriminates against Black employees" by mandating racial discrimination complaints be arbitrated in a "secret forum," relying on "culture fit" in hiring and preferring "most white and Asian employees".

The EEOC has not brought allegations against Facebook yet.

A Facebook spokesperson told The Verge on Saturday: "We believe it is essential to provide all employees with a respectful and safe working environment. We take any allegations of discrimination seriously and investigate every case."

In 2018, a Facebook employee published an internal memo sent to his co-workers on his last day at the company, where he said the company mistreated its Black employees.

"In some buildings, there are more 'Black Lives Matter' posters than there are actual black people. Facebook can't claim that it is connecting communities if those communities aren't represented proportionately in its staffing," Facebook partnerships manager Mark Luckie had said.

Facebook's latest diversity report showed the company was short of its goal to have 50 per cent of its workforce from underrepresented groups by 2024.

(From IANS with edits)