Forge Industrial Staffing, a Michigan-based temporary employment agency, has filed objections to a magistrate judge's recommendation in a subpoena dispute case between the company and the U.S. Department of Labor. The department issued the subpoenas in its investigation into child labor allegations.
According to court documents, the Labor Department launched its investigation into Forge—a staffing business with 12 offices in Michigan and Indiana—after the New York Times published an article on Feb. 25, 2023, that accused a Forge client of employing three under-age workers.
According to court documents, the Labor Department issued subpoenas seeking documents in 26 categories. Forge provided documents—more than 60,000 pages of materials—in 24 categories. The two categories that Forge did not respond to involved the identities of the firm’s clients and the terms of its client contracts. It contended that releasing that information could put it out of business.
During the investigation, the Labor Department told Forge that its client information was not necessary. In October 2023, the agency communicated its willingness to accept a package of employment documents for each employee in lieu of the client documents, the agency, but then it reversed course.
Magistrate Judge Phillip J. Green of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan issued a Report and Recommendation (R&R), recommending that the Labor Department’s petition be granted. Among Green’s conclusions: Forge is not entitled to any specific explanation for why the Labor Department needs the client documents, relevance must be "construed broadly,” and the court must “defer to the agency's assessment of relevancy unless it is obviously wrong.” The judge also concluded that enforcement of the subpoenas would not constitute an abuse of the judicial process.
According to the court document, in its several objections, Forge argued that the burden is on the Labor Department to show relevancy, not just an unsupported assertion that the requested information is relevant. It also argued that compelling the company to comply with the subpoenas “would be unreasonable and therefore an abuse of the judicial process.”
Founded in 1995, Grand Rapids, Mi.-based Forge Staffing provides talent recruitment services to large industrial businesses. The company recruits employees in industrial assembly for work including packaging, machine operation, welding and forklift driving.
Forge has offices in Michigan and Indiana, including Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Holland, Warren, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Indianapolis. The company founders are Richard DeTamble and John Janisch.