Grand Rapids Reporter

Congressional candidate Jason Ickes (R-Grand Rapids) said that “members of Congress like Hillary Scholten” have created situations like the one in which Grand Rapids-based Forge Staffing Company is the target of a federal investigation because an illegal immigrant falsified work documents.

“Unaccountable, undocumented migrants will continue to do what is in their best interest, which can include falsifying documentation for employment,” Ickes told the Grand Rapids Reporter. “This situation was created by members of Congress like Hillary Scholten who refuse to secure our borders and remove unlawful residents disrupting labor markets and undermining the integrity of our nation.”

”What’s worse, Scholten is an Immigration Attorney and the open border provides her with a lucrative figure at the cost of undermining her oath to uphold the Constitution, protect citizens, and defend America’s borders.”

Scholten did not respond to a request for comment.

As Grand Rapids Reporter previously reported, "A Wyoming woman who used a fake identification card and fraudulent social security number 12 years ago to obtain work while underage is now blaming the company who hired her for accepting the documents."

That’s according to a Nov. 14 filing by Forge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Nubia K. Malacara, now 27, duped Forge by using documents representing that she was age-eligible when she was not. 

Malacara applied at Forge with a false date of birth in 2011, claiming she was 19 at the time, and served as a temporary worker for three days, according to court documents. 

After being hired for an administrative job in 2021 at age 25, she resigned in 2022 and later accused Forge and its client, Hearthside, of knowingly employing minors, leading to a DOL investigation. 

Forge is seeking protection for its reputation as clients have severed ties with the company in the wake of the allegations. The company emphasized the deceptive practices of the “whistleblower," Malacara, who initiated the probe.

The company maintains that the DOL's approach, seeking on-site client visits and interviews with workers, has caused significant harm, with 17 clients and $9.5 million in annual revenue lost without any formal child labor charges. Forge asserts its cooperation with the DOL, providing extensive employee details and interviews, arguing against the DOL's claims of obstruction.

In response to the administrative subpoenas related to Fair Labor Standards Act compliance, Forge filed a response with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, contesting the DOL's demands for client information. 

Despite the evidence of the forgery and faked identity, Michigan federal magistrate judge, Phillip Green, approved the U.S. Labor Department's request for the confidential client list of Forge, supporting the agency's effort to continue and potentially expand its investigation. 

Already grappling with significant financial losses, Forge intends to appeal the decision.

The case underscores the challenges businesses face in navigating regulatory investigations and the potential implications on their operations.

John O'Brien, editor of Legal Newsline, recently discussed his reporting about Forge's treatment by the DOL on the American Legal Record Podcast.

O'Brien highlighted that, despite nine months of investigation, Forge has not faced any formal child labor charges but suffers the consequences of a damaged reputation by losing clients and revenue. 

“So it's very unfair to those clients. The damage to Forge is real. They made their case November 14th in response to a motion to enforce the subpoena filed in Grand Rapids Federal Court earlier this year, and they have lost 17 clients already since the New York Times article came out and that totals $9.5 million in annual revenue,” O’Brien said.

O'Brien also discussed the legal aspects of the case, the role of the acting U.S. Secretary of Labor, and potential implications for businesses nationwide if the DOL succeeds. 

Acting Secretary Julie Su, whose nomination has been stalled, has sparked controversy as the DOL case continues.

The case has raised concerns among employers who feel caught in a challenging situation regarding worker identification and regulatory investigations.

“It's imperative we avoid passing additional laws that are not fully thought out. As second and third orders of impact could produce unintended consequences for family farms and family businesses. These attempts at passing child labor laws could undermine traditional family businesses and result in the state removing children from their homes under the premise of ‘protecting children’ while only being used in a mafia style tactic to take out competition for large international corporations.”