It has been reported that Meta keeps confidential lists of former employees who are barred from being rehired by the company. Some individuals who reapplied were even approached by their former supervisors, only to be ignored after recruiters discovered they were on a mysterious “ineligible for rehire” list. Former employees are not informed when they are added to these lists, and some only found out after persuading recruiters to share information.

In 2022 and 2023, Meta implemented significant layoffs, releasing tens of thousands of employees in a series of waves to streamline the company and boost efficiency. Several former employees told Business Insider that they reapplied not because they had positive feelings towards Meta, but rather because the compensation was attractive. One former employee stated, “It’s the worst company I’ve ever worked for, but they also pay the best. If I could get in there for a couple more years and earn a good income, I would do it.”

Unfortunately, dozens of these individuals have been excluded from the application process, despite having met or exceeded expectations during their previous tenure and not being fired for any misconduct. Apparently, former employees can be added to these lists with minimal effort; when an employee leaves the company, an email inquires whether the employee is eligible for future hiring. It’s possible that employees were added to the list simply because someone didn’t like them, or maybe Meta has raised its standards. According to Meta, there are measures in place to ensure that only those who meet certain criteria are added to the list.

As reported by Business Insider:

A director who was attempting to rehire a senior engineer expressed frustration about the block, stating that it was preventing them from rehiring multiple individuals they wanted to recruit.

In an email obtained by BI, a hiring manager expressed frustration about being unable to determine why a candidate they wanted to rehire was on a block list. They mentioned that it seemed they were encountering a mechanism outside the normal recruiting process. The manager noted that they had not seen anyone successfully removed from the list and able to interview at the company again.

According to human resources experts cited in the article, it is unusual for large companies to maintain such lists for former employees who did not violate any policies. Lazlo Bock, Google’s head of people operations for ten years, stated that the practice of blocking former employees is “very, very rare.” He added, “I’ve actually never heard of a company having a ‘do not rehire’ designation for former employees, because if an employee was a decent or good performer, you’d much rather hire somebody who actually knows your company and culture than somebody else.”

A Meta employee speaking to Gizmodo on the condition of anonymity stated that they do not believe the lists are unusual and have seen similar practices at another major tech company where they previously worked. The employee suggested that former employees who were laid off during Meta’s mass layoffs and are now on the do-not-rehire list may have actually been terminated, despite it being framed as a restructuring-based layoff. Meta has increased its performance expectations, and these employees may not have met the new standards, despite receiving positive reviews in the past.

Maintaining such lists is not considered illegal unless it disproportionately affects a protected class, such as people of color. As long as that is not the case, Meta is free to add individuals to these lists. However, it is unfortunate and seems unfair to those added to the lists, as they have no recourse and the company is unwilling to provide any explanation for their specific situation.

If anyone from Meta can provide a better explanation for this phenomenon, please feel free to contact us. We would appreciate more information on this matter.