The U.S administration filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc. for allegedly discriminating against U.S. workers by designating thousands of positions for foreigners with temporary H-1B visas.

Facebook “refused to recruit, consider, or hire qualified and available U.S. workers for over 2,600 positions” and instead reserved the jobs -- with an average salary of $156,000 -- to non-citizens that it sponsored for permanent work authorisations with green cards, according a statement issued on Thursday by the civil rights division of the Justice Department (DOJ).

Based on an investigation that it has been pursuing since 2018, the DOJ found that Facebook intentionally held about 2,600 positions for workers with temporary visas who the company sponsored for green cards. The positions reserved by the company for temporary workers paid salaries of $156,000 on average.

DOJ charged Facebook with channelling those positions to temporary workers in part by refusing to advertise those job openings on its website, requiring applications by physical mail to dissuade potential American job seekers.

In its investigation, the department determined that Facebook’s ineffective recruitment methods dissuaded U.S. workers from applying to its PERM positions. The department concluded that, during the relevant period, Facebook received zero or one U.S. worker applicants for 99.7 percent of its PERM positions, while comparable positions at Facebook that were advertised on its careers website during a similar time period typically attracted 100 or more applicants each. These U.S. workers were denied an opportunity to be considered for the jobs Facebook sought to channel to temporary visa holders, according to the lawsuit.

“The Department of Justice’s lawsuit alleges that Facebook engaged in intentional and widespread violations of the law, by setting aside positions for temporary visa holders instead of considering interested and qualified U.S. workers,” Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband said in a press release. “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.”

DOJ said that the lawsuit is filed as part of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which was started in 2017 and is aimed at targeting, investigating, and taking enforcement actions against companies that discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa holders.

Facebook said it has been cooperating with the Justice Department.

“While we dispute the allegations in the complaint, we cannot comment further on pending litigation,” the company said in a statement.