09/08/2026
Request for Clarification and Retraction from Mayor Randy Westlund
The following is for educational purposes, as every contract is different depending on the scope of work but most generally at a minimum the following would be required to work with our company
Direct Siding Idaho is again responding to public comments made by Mayor Randy Westlund in connection with a news story concerning our company and two longtime Honduran workers, Eddie and Marlon.
Because the Mayor’s statement was published directly above and in reference to a story specifically concerning Direct Siding Idaho and these workers, readers could reasonably understand his comments as suggesting that Direct Siding Idaho knowingly hired unauthorized workers, failed to obtain appropriate documentation, and paid workers “under the table.”
Those are serious implications. They are also implications that Direct Siding Idaho disputes and believes are unsupported by the facts.
We therefore respectfully request that Mayor Westlund publicly retract or clarify his statements and make clear that he has no factual basis to accuse Direct Siding Idaho of knowingly employing unauthorized workers, paying workers “under the table,” or intentionally disregarding federal employment or tax requirements.
Direct Siding Idaho utilizes independent subcontractors in its construction operations.
For bona fide independent contractors, Form I-9 requirements are not the same as they are for employees. Federal guidance distinguishes independent contractors from employees for purposes of Form I-9 employment-verification requirements.
For tax-reporting purposes, independent contractors generally provide Form W-9 identifying the contractor and taxpayer identification number, and qualifying nonemployee compensation is reported on Form 1099-NEC. Our subcontractors also operate subject to applicable requirements concerning business registration, insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, and other documentation associated with their independent businesses.
It is therefore misleading to suggest that the absence of employee I-9 documentation, standing alone, establishes that a company employing independent subcontractors was operating illegally or knowingly hiring unauthorized employees.
Edduin (Eddie) and Marlon Were People, Not a Political Talking Point
Eddie and Marlon have names. They have families. Eddie dyed his hair the most ridiculous red color when he was twenty and then we watched him fall in love.
They were never secretly handed cash “under the table” by Direct Siding Idaho, nor were they deliberately underpaid or exploited by our company.
To the contrary, their compensation reflected the quality of their craftsmanship and the value of their work. On applicable federally funded projects, compensation requirements were governed by federal prevailing-wage requirements, including Davis-Bacon requirements.
They provided tax documentation, including taxpayer identification information.
These workers also came from a Honduran community that had lived and worked in the United States for decades under an extraordinarily complicated and continually changing federal immigration system, including Temporary Protected Status.
For more than six years, we personally watched people we knew work through that system—submitting paperwork, attending appointments and consultations, and even traveling as far as Seattle in connection with Honduran consular matters. We encouraged them through that process and hoped to celebrate with them when it was finally completed.
Immigration classifications, employment authorization, TPS extensions, court decisions, agency actions, and termination dates have changed repeatedly. Before publicly implying that a local company knowingly violated federal law, the facts and the applicable dates should be established.
If Mayor Westlund possesses evidence that Direct Siding Idaho knowingly hired unauthorized employees, deliberately paid workers “under the table,” intentionally failed to comply with documentation requirements applicable to our company, or otherwise violated federal employment law, then we ask that he identify the factual basis for those statements.
If he does not possess such evidence, we ask that he publicly correct or retract any statement reasonably implying that we did.
Direct Siding Idaho takes pride in our company, our work, and most importantly, our people. We believe deeply in the American Dream and in the people who work extraordinarily hard trying to achieve it.
The story involving Eddie and Marlon should not be reduced to the word “illegal.”
There are human consequences here.
Children are missing their father. A wife is being forced to confront an unimaginable decision: whether to remain in the United States to preserve the future her family worked to build or return with her children to a country they left in search of something better.
Their story is increasingly the story of wives, husbands, parents, and children caught in the consequences of a rapidly changing immigration system.
Our purpose in speaking publicly is not to engage in partisan politics. It is to defend our company’s reputation when accusations are implied without a factual basis and, equally importantly, to defend the humanity of people we have known for years.
Eddie and Marlon are more than an immigration classification.
They are fathers, husbands, craftsmen, coworkers, and human beings whose character deserves to be discussed with the same dignity we would expect for our own families.
We respectfully ask Mayor Westlund to correct the public record or clearly disassociate Direct Siding Idaho from accusations for which there is no established factual basis.
Direct Siding Idaho
