California consumers hit The Hershey Co., Nestle USA Inc., and Mars Inc. with putative class actions Monday alleging the chocolate giants illegally failed to disclose that they make their popular confections using cocoa beans harvested by African child slaves. The lawsuits, filed by plaintiffs Robert Hodson, Elaine McCoy and Laura Dana, allege that consumers would not have bought the companies' products had they known they were supporting slave labor...The classes bring claims for violations of California's Unfair Competition Law, the state's Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and the state's False Advertising Law. The plaintiffs, all represented by a team from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, pointed to U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of International Affairs reports showing that cocoa and coffee from the Ivory Coast are likely the result of forced and child labor...Representatives for the chocolate companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.