Mexico & USA: Mexican workers with TN visas file lawsuits alleging labour rights abuses
Summary
Date Reported: 25 Jul 2024
Location: United States of America
Companies
Hyundai Motor Group - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Shipping & handling: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Mexico , Shipping & handling: General , Gender not reported , Documented migrants ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Mexico , Auto parts , Gender not reported , Documented migrants )Issues
Wage Theft , Contract Substitution , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discrimination , Recruitment Fees , Precarious/Unsuitable Living ConditionsResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: The lawsuits are ongoing.
Source type: News outlet
"Lawsuits Reveal Labor Abuses Faced by Some Migrant Workers on TN Visas", 25 July 2024.
Allegations of mistreatment of high-skilled Mexican workers have sparked several important class action lawsuits against large automotive and logistics companies located in the United States. These companies are facing legal challenges for labor abuse, fraud, and exploitation through the TN visa program—a program that lacks oversight and has in some cases fostered predatory employment practices targeting high-skilled Mexican migrant workers...Despite the increase in TN visas, the program still lacks essential safeguards, leaving some migrant workers at risk of serious labor abuses and burdened with covering all related expenses, at times under false pretenses...In June 2024, Mexican TN workers filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court in Atlanta, Georgia, against logistics companies within the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. The lawsuit alleges fraud, discrimination, breach of contract, racketeering, and wage violations. The suit claims that the plaintiffs “were exploited as part of an illegal scheme for cheap labor” in warehouses across the Southeast...