The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling, said that a Civil War-era law barring discrimination in contracts based on "alienage" extends to bias against US citizens.

The decision reverses a California federal judge's dismissal of a lawsuit by Purushothaman Rajaram, a naturalized US citizen who says Meta passes over American workers for jobs in favour of cheaper visa recipients.

Rajaram is seeking to represent a class that includes thousands of workers.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and lawyers for Rajaram did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company in court filings has denied wrongdoing and said Rajaram failed to show that Meta intended to discriminate against US workers.

--Reuters--