Jobs to Move America filed a lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia for engaging in unconscionable labor practices while falsely certifying to California state and local governments that their vehicles are manufactured in compliance with state and federal law. The lawsuit alleges violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and is filed against Hyundai Motor America, Inc. (“HMA”), Hyundai Motor Company (“HMC”), Kia America, Inc. (“Kia”), Kia Corporation (“KC”), Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd. (“Hyundai Mobis”), and Glovis America, LLC (“Glovis”) (collectively described here as Hyundai and Kia).
The complaint, filed in Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, describes a pattern of abuse and deception that runs contrary to California’s “high-road” labor policies, public purchasing standards, and public values. It details extensive evidence that Hyundai and Kia, despite marketing themselves as socially responsible to California public agencies to secure public contracts, rely on a Southern supply chain that has engaged in illegal and unethical labor practices—including prison labor, coerced migrant labor, and the documented use of child labor—in violation of California law and values. These suppliers, the complaint alleges, operate unsafe workplaces that have led to repeated citations, injuries, and preventable deaths.