UPDATE 1-Justice Department accuses Facebook of discriminating against U.S. workers

(Updates with more background on the case)

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department accused Facebook Inc on Thursday of discriminating against U.S. workers, saying in a new lawsuit the social media giant has given hiring preferences to temporary workers, including those who hold H-1B visas.

The Justice Department said that Facebook had "refused" to recruit, consider or hire qualified U.S. workers for more than 2,600 jobs that in many cases paid an average salary of $156,000 a year.

Instead, it opted to fill the positions using temporary visa holders, such as those with H-1B visas, the department added.

H-1B visas are often used by the technology sector to bring highly skilled foreign guest workers to the United States. But critics say the laws governing these visas are lax, and make it too easy to replace U.S. workers with cheaper, foreign labor.

"Facebook has been cooperating with the DOJ in its review of this issue and while we dispute the allegations in the complaint, we cannot comment further on pending litigation," company spokesman Daniel Roberts said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Nandita Bose Editing by Chris Reese and Edward Tobin)