Judge Approves $11.5 Million Settlement Over Mexican Engineers’ Claims at Kia Georgia, Hyundai Mobis

A federal judge in Georgia has approved an $11.5 million settlement resolving claims from more than 600 Mexican professionals who alleged they were recruited for engineering and technical jobs in the United States, then placed in factory production roles at Kia Georgia and Hyundai Mobis facilities in West Point.

U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May granted final approval on May 29 in Martinez v. Mobis Alabama, LLC et al., a case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The workers accused the automakers and several staffing and recruiting companies of participating in a hiring operation that misrepresented the jobs available to Mexican professionals brought to Georgia under TN visas.

According to court records, recruiters offered positions including quality control engineer, logistics engineer, and maintenance or production technician, with annual salaries generally ranging from $35,000 to $40,000. The workers claimed that after obtaining their visas and moving to the United States, they were assigned manual production line duties that differed from the professional work described during recruitment.

TN status allows qualified citizens of Mexico and Canada to work temporarily in the United States in certain professional occupations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The worker must have a qualifying professional position, making the nature of the offered job an important part of the employment arrangement. The Mexican workers argued that the professional positions used during recruitment did not match the work they were ultimately assigned in Georgia.

Their lawsuit claimed the recruiters and companies participated in a coordinated scheme involving repeated misrepresentations about available jobs, wages, and working conditions. Those allegations formed the basis of claims under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, and Georgia's racketeering law.

Federal RICO law allows private civil lawsuits involving an enterprise accused of engaging in a pattern of certain crimes, including specified forms of fraud. The law can apply to coordinated business activity when the alleged conduct meets its requirements for racketeering activity and causes financial harm. In May 2024, Judge May allowed the workers' federal and Georgia RICO claims to continue after several companies sought to dismiss them, while narrowing other parts of the lawsuit.

The workers also alleged they were required to work long hours after arriving at the plants. Court records describe claims of 12-hour shifts and alternating five- and six-day workweeks, along with allegations that some workers did not receive all of the wages they were owed.

Those allegations supported claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law that sets nationwide minimum wage and overtime requirements. Eligible employees generally must receive overtime pay at one and a half times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Workers who establish unpaid wage violations may also be entitled to an additional amount known as liquidated damages.

The settlement covers 614 TN visa holders who were recruited by TESS, SPJ Connect or Allswell, assigned by Allswell to Kia Georgia or Hyundai Mobis facilities in West Point and paid by Allswell during the class period beginning in August 2018. The agreement resolves claims against Kia Georgia, Mobis Alabama, Allswell, SPJ Connect, Total Employee Solution Support, and Youngjin Lee, according to the official settlement notice.

Payments reflect the different legal claims covered by the agreement. The wage portion provides an average payment of about $1,672 per worker based largely on the length of the person's assignment, with half treated as unpaid wages and half as liquidated damages. A separate portion addressing the alleged recruitment fraud provides payments generally ranging from about $4,100 to $16,800, depending on the worker's group and time on assignment. The settlement fund also covers attorneys' fees and litigation costs.

Kia Georgia, Hyundai Mobis, and the other settling parties deny wrongdoing, and the agreement resolves the claims without an admission of liability. The settlement became final on July 9, 2026. Eligible class members have until January 8, 2027, to provide the information required for distribution of their payments.