Purushothaman Rajaram v. Meta Platforms, Inc.

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

PURUSHOTHAMAN RAJARAM, No. 22-16870

Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:22-cv-02920-LB v.

META PLATFORMS, INC., FKA OPINION

Facebook, Inc.,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Laurel D. Beeler, Magistrate Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 4, 2023 University of Hawaii at Manoa

Filed June 27, 2024

Before: Marsha S. Berzon, Eric D. Miller, and Lawrence VanDyke, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Miller; Dissent by Judge VanDyke RAJARAM V. META PLATFORMS, INC.

SUMMARY *

Employment Discrimination

Reversing the district court’s dismissal of an employment discrimination action, and remanding, the panel held that 42 U.S.C. § 1981 prohibits discrimination in hiring against United States citizens on the basis of their citizenship. Purushothaman Rajaram, a naturalized United States citizen, alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc., refused to hire him because it prefers to hire noncitizens holding H1B visas to whom it can pay lower wages. Section 1981(a) provides:

All persons…