Springfield temp agency accused of exploitation of migrant workers

First Diversity is a staffing agency in Springfield, Ohio, and it has drawn criticism from U.S. citizens and Haitians who are now living in the city of taking advantage of the new arrivals to the area at the expense of its clients.

Asra Nomani explained in Jewish Journal that whistleblowers who used to work at First Diversity say they were forced to accept false documents to keep illegal immigrants in the company’s database, that workers’ wages were not reflective of the hours they worked, and that identity theft was rife in their environment.

‘They treat people as paid slavery. … They are in hell while living on earth.’

The complaints and accusations have reached the Ohio Attorney General’s office. Not only is First Diversity under investigation for the previously mentioned problems, but investigators are also looking into allegations of human trafficking facilitated by the company. Even First Diversity employees were not spared, Nomani reported.

“Some of the whistleblowers cried, recounting their experiences working at First Diversity. Workers spoke of paychecks that never arrived, long hours with no overtime and promises of stability that quickly turned to dust. Some, like the 24-year-old woman and her mother, had their Social Security numbers allegedly stolen, while others found their I-9 forms and drug test results faked to keep them in the system,” Nomani wrote.

In 2021, a small group of Haitians stormed into First Diversity’s office to demand an explanation to what they say were manipulated wages that didn’t match the hours they worked, calling the company “thieves.”

The head of First Diversity, George Ten, denied the allegations to Nomani.

“We are a successful business that connects people with jobs. We improve the lives of Haitian migrant workers, which is why they keep working with us,” Ten said in an email.

First Diversity’s shift toward Haitian workers started in 2019, but business apparently boomed when the Biden-Harris administration expanded the number of Haitians who could qualify for Temporary Protected Status. The company said using local U.S. citizens for jobs in the area was a “nightmare” as the turnover rate was high and their performance was lower compared with Haitians.

The complaints of Haitians being exploited for their labor go as far back as 2019. Jean André, a Haitian-American pastor, described to Nomani horrendous conditions in which he saw Haitians living when he picked them up for church.

“It is really a shame to see how they treat people as paid slavery. This is what I call it. They are in hell while living on earth,” Jean said. “You get my word? So that means they are suffering terribly. And the bad thing about it, when you are suffering terribly, you cannot do anything about it. … When you are suffering, you don’t see how you can take yourself out of the situation, and you have to live it.”

While on the ground in Springfield, Blaze News met with many individuals, most of whom mentioned without prompting the problems associated with First Diversity.

“They’re indentured servants,” local Mark Sanders said about the Haitian migrants. “They are actually oversold to the temp agency. So indentured servitude was something that was made illegal decades and decades and decades ago, here it’s back again.”

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