FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 20, 2024
Contact: Francisco Díaz Pinelo, francisco@cdmigrante.org
Atlanta, Georgia. Today, two professionals from Mexico filed a class action lawsuit against GFA (GFA Alabama Inc.) and Hyundai Glovis (GLOVIS Georgia, LLC) for fraud and discrimination, among other claims. This is the sixth separate class action lawsuit filed in the last two years by Mexican engineers and skilled technicians—TN visa holders—across Georgia and Alabama alleging manufacturers lied to them and the U.S. government to employ them as manual laborers.
The two plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit filed today claim GFA (GFA Alabama Inc.) and Hyundai Glovis (GLOVIS Georgia, LLC) discriminated against them and other workers based on their race, citizenship, and national origin, breached their employment contracts, failed to pay them legally required wages, and committed fraud and racketeering under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Rosa Linda Soriano, one of the plaintiffs, brought additional individual claims alleging pregnancy discrimination and retaliation for requesting light duty to accommodate her pregnancy.
Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM); Radford Scott LLP; Beal, Sutherland, Berlin & Brown, LLC and Hall & Lampros, LLP represent the TN migrant workers who filed the lawsuit in the United States Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
The lawsuit claims that hundreds of TN workers were recruited in Mexico to work in the United States with promises of professional-level employment with GFA, including in the Hyundai-Kia supply chain, but instead were obligated to perform grueling manual labor. Workers in the GFA case allege that not only were they paid less than their non-Mexican, non-Hispanic coworkers for performing similar jobs, they were also assigned longer hours and more grueling tasks, and forbidden from speaking Spanish in the workplace.
The TN visa allows professionals from Mexico and Canada entry into the United States for a period of time “to engage in business activities at a professional level.” The suit alleges that the defendant companies conspired to defraud Mexican workers and the federal government by taking advantage of the under-regulated TN visa program to satisfy their need for low-wage labor.
In her employment at Hyundai Glovis’s West Point, GA warehouse, Rosa Linda Soriano also claims that GFA and Hyundai Glovis refused to modify her workload and responsibilities to accommodate her pregnancy, and ultimately fired her for requesting these accommodations.
“This case provides another clear example of how unscrupulous employers throughout the Hyundai and Kia supply chain and beyond are turning to the obscure and under-regulated TN visa category to fill low-wage, entry-level positions, defrauding employees and the US government in the process. We are proud to stand with workers in their fight against abusive employers and the misuse of the TN visa category.” – Rachel Micah-Jones, founder and Executive Director of Centro de los Derechos del Migrante.
“The fraud the workers allege in these cases was not just against themselves and the government. It was also against the people of Georgia and Alabama who gave large tax breaks to some of the companies locate their plants and warehouses here. It is appalling that companies taking advantage of these tax breaks do not treat workers—whether local or from abroad—with the dignity and honesty they deserve.” – Daniel Werner, Partner with Radford Scott, LLP (Decatur, GA).
“Our clients are coming here with the intention of utilizing hard-earned engineering degrees, yet when they arrive, they’re tasked with manual labor and face unsafe working conditions that American workers alongside them do not endure. We are committed to holding these auto suppliers accountable and putting a stop to this deplorable practice to ensure all workers get the opportunities they are promised and deserve.” Rachel Berlin Benjamin, Partner at Beal Sutherland Berlin & Brown.