Host Family Class Action Suit

[Anonymous]

We sued this summer and APIA settled. It can be done. We contacted a lawyer in AACounty. We didn't walk away with much after legal fees but it was well worth the lawyer being paid versus the company keeping the fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plus one what the previous poster said, ours did this within 2 weeks, have a friend who went through 4 the same way!!!!

Ours took 3 months, but boy was I pissed. After all the efforts to get her here ….

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify with the poster who successfully sued, you got back any fee you had paid, no damages or expenses?

[Anonymous]

Yes! They also deceive families with rematch. The joke is that they rematch anything that walks. I had an Au pair who repeatedly injured my children, they rematched her. I had another who was outright oppositional defiant and smoked in our house and car causing damage, it violated their own rules and somehow rematched. The last Au pair I had had severe mental health issues and was hyper sexual with me (her host mom) and they rematched her with a family in Seattle. They were not forthcoming with families and do not protect host families from negligence

[Anonymous]

people are so naive in the US. Young women coming from poor countries will tell you anything to get out of their current circumstances. It is totally worth for them. The ultimate goal is to get settled here through marriage, and many do get married here. It is the easiest, cheapest form of immigration. I do not blame them! Families get what they pay for, and this is why nannies are thriving, with smarter families who do not even consider an au pair, or exploiting other people which is what using au pairs is.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry you have a disabled child but I find it incomprehensible you would use this program to find child care. You know more than anyone how hard it is. You think a young woman from another country can deal? I don’t care what they told you.

This was entirely predictable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry you have a disabled child but I find it incomprehensible you would use this program to find child care. You know more than anyone how hard it is. You think a young woman from another country can deal? I don’t care what they told you.

This was entirely predictable.

Read the posts and thought Same!

Why in the world would you think that a young person here for a paid vacation would work out managing a difficult child when most barely manage the typical child?

[Anonymous]

Both, Agencies and Families are getting away with too much. Some agencies don’t screen the candidate the way it should and candidates land in awful homes with dysfunctional families that think APs are slaves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry you have a disabled child but I find it incomprehensible you would use this program to find child care. You know more than anyone how hard it is. You think a young woman from another country can deal? I don’t care what they told you.

This was entirely predictable.

Read the posts and thought Same!

Why in the world would you think that a young person here for a paid vacation would work out managing a difficult child when most barely manage the typical child?

THIS 100%
You must find a trained caregiver for your disabled child; APs are not qualified for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:people are so naive in the US. Young women coming from poor countries will tell you anything to get out of their current circumstances. It is totally worth for them. The ultimate goal is to get settled here through marriage, and many do get married here. It is the easiest, cheapest form of immigration. I do not blame them! Families get what they pay for, and this is why nannies are thriving, with smarter families who do not even consider an au pair, or exploiting other people which is what using au pairs is.

Families abuse APs, this is well known, hosts treat them as slaves and pay them about $200 weekly. Families would say they provide food(cheap and frozen meals), boarding(guest room). AP program should shut down, terrible management agencies that sell a bill of goods to hosts and candidates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! They also deceive families with rematch. The joke is that they rematch anything that walks. I had an Au pair who repeatedly injured my children, they rematched her. I had another who was outright oppositional defiant and smoked in our house and car causing damage, it violated their own rules and somehow rematched. The last Au pair I had had severe mental health issues and was hyper sexual with me (her host mom) and they rematched her with a family in Seattle. They were not forthcoming with families and do not protect host families from negligence

Wondering if you, host, were the issue…

[Anonymous]

There is a facebook group called Cultural Care Au Pair nightmares. You might want to post there.

I would be interested in this lawsuit. Cultural Care claimed they train au pairs but this is all a bunch of bs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:people are so naive in the US. Young women coming from poor countries will tell you anything to get out of their current circumstances. It is totally worth for them. The ultimate goal is to get settled here through marriage, and many do get married here. It is the easiest, cheapest form of immigration. I do not blame them! Families get what they pay for, and this is why nannies are thriving, with smarter families who do not even consider an au pair, or exploiting other people which is what using au pairs is.

Families abuse APs, this is well known, hosts treat them as slaves and pay them about $200 weekly. Families would say they provide food(cheap and frozen meals), boarding(guest room). AP program should shut down, terrible management agencies that sell a bill of goods to hosts and candidates.

same tiresome hyperbole. Millions of people around the world are not clamoring to be slaves.
Also tiresome is that you seem to think housing, utilities, transpiration, and food are negligible when those are literally everyone's primary expenses. Most families also provide cell phone and other benefits like gym and vacations. People making more than minimum wage have a hard time breaking even paying for the basics and au pairs live better than 90% of people their age ... in the USA.

However I do agree with you - it wouldn't bother me for the au pair program to end. It's an avenue for so many entitled fraudulent people to immigrate to the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:people are so naive in the US. Young women coming from poor countries will tell you anything to get out of their current circumstances. It is totally worth for them. The ultimate goal is to get settled here through marriage, and many do get married here. It is the easiest, cheapest form of immigration. I do not blame them! Families get what they pay for, and this is why nannies are thriving, with smarter families who do not even consider an au pair, or exploiting other people which is what using au pairs is.

Families abuse APs, this is well known, hosts treat them as slaves and pay them about $200 weekly. Families would say they provide food(cheap and frozen meals), boarding(guest room). AP program should shut down, terrible management agencies that sell a bill of goods to hosts and candidates.

I understand you are probably using the term colloquially but I encourage you to move beyond this language. This is not an example of modern slavery. The Au pairs can leave at any time. They are paid weekly. They live in American middle class homes. Comparing these women’s lives to actual slaves is… a lot.

[Anonymous]

*that said, I agree the program should be disbanded. There’s no reason for a program where the applicants feel like they are “slaves” and the host families feel the Au pairs are barely pulling their weight.