Au Pair just asked for more money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Host families are apparently worse:
www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/au-pair-program-abuse-state-department-214956

Many of the roughly 17,500 au pairs who live and work in the United States every year have positive experiences. But according to a dozen current and former au pairs as well as former au pair company employees, ordeals aren’t unusual, either. They relay horror stories of au pairs who are overworked, humiliated, refused meals, threatened with arrest and deportation—even victims of theft. Worst of all, they say, complaining about exploitative, unsafe working conditions rarely makes any difference. Sometimes, reporting abuse makes the situation worse.

You're concluding that host families are worse because of a sample of 12 out of 17,500? I strongly support forcing agencies to step up and do a better job, but there are problems on both sides.

If you really were a host mother and knew other host mothers, you know that many do not respect the program rules. So you know better.

Actually, I don't. All of the families I know are very conscientious about the rules. Some will occasionally pay extra for babysitting, but that's with mutual ageeement. I've never hear of abuse outside of a few news articles. Not from other host families or the many au pairs I know.

We did have one au pair accuse us of going over hours. She'd complain on Instagram that she'd worked 50 hours. It wasn't true at all. She just couldn't do math and had a personality that always needed something to complain about for attention. She worked 35 hours that week.

[Anonymous]

Additional pay for additional chores done if which are not kosher.
Tasks that are inappropriate for Au Pairs (there is a very long list includes meals dishes etc)
cleaning messes the children left during the Au Pair’s off hours;
working overtime (past 45 hours/ week) for any reason, even with additional pay
Etc etc etc

[Anonymous]

Yep. Against the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Additional pay for additional chores done if which are not kosher.
Tasks that are inappropriate for Au Pairs (there is a very long list includes meals dishes etc)
cleaning messes the children left during the Au Pair’s off hours;
working overtime (past 45 hours/ week) for any reason, even with additional pay
Etc etc etc

OP said she works under hours. And the tidying up likely referred to tasks while on duty and related to the kids.

[Anonymous]

Did not sound like hardly any PPs treated their au pairs as cultural ambassadors, did it? From cleaners, to stupid girls who mistook 35 hours for 50, to overgrown toddlers, with just occasional poorly laid extra chores? Hardly ambassadorial or family treatment?!

PBS: Now, a lawsuit lodged on behalf of 90,000 current and former au pairs alleges sponsor agencies are exploiting the program as a source for cheap migrant labor.

The suit claims that rather than being cultural ambassadors, au pairs are cheap migrant labor, exploited by a system that grossly underpays them for what amounts to ordinary domestic employment. The defendants in the suit are 15 of the 16 agencies charged with oversight of the program.

[Anonymous]

Oh, sure. I’d be more comfortable if Attorney General’s office confirms that is likely what OP meant.

[Anonymous]

Maybe if people were decent they should behave like it with their au pairs. And if not, hire a legal employee legally and assign chores. Have not heard much decency tonight.

[Anonymous]

Lest there be confusion, here’s how OP and friends arrived at the $200 per week they are so proud of (please note the current min wage in DC is $15):
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. However, sponsor agencies say families are allowed to deduct 40% for the food and housing they provide, meaning au pair pay works out to $4.35 an hour, or $195.75 a week.
So, the au pair is well within her rights to ask for minimum of $405 per week in addition to the room and board.

[Anonymous]

More things to be aware of ladies, in DMV all apply:

You can't legally deduct 40% from the minimum wage for room and board if the program requires au pairs to live with families, which it does.

Agencies colluded to keep au pair wages low; violated federal labor rules that say families must pay their state's minimum wage if it is higher than the federal minimum wage.

[Anonymous]

So, if your au pair works 45 hrs/wk she should get $675 per week in DC. If we enforce these rules, families will self select between those who want employees and those who actually want to participate in a cultural exchange program. They will
also reduce the number of hours and not be tempted to make au pairs do more unsanctioned work. Boom. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Also, ladies, since many of you put other sisters down if they dare disagree, perhaps you’ll hear it from a federal judge. I bet our DC gov would agree.

A federal judge ruled in December 2019 that Massachusetts au pairs are covered by state labor laws, and as such are entitled to the state’s minimum wage (now $12.75 an hour) and other basic labor rights in line with the 2015 Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. Starting January 1, pay for au pairs increased from $195 a week to $528 a week, which includes a $77 deduction for room and board.

Until this latest ruling, Massachusetts host families, many of whom reside in wealthy towns like Brookline and Newton, have enjoyed what is, for all intents and purposes, a cut-rate live-in servant. Whether a family had one child or five, a newborn or school-age children, au pairs were legally mandated to work up to ten hours a day and forty-five hours a week for $4.75 an hour.

[Anonymous]

Au Pair was right to ask for more money.
www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/us/au-pair-massachusetts-ruling.html

[Anonymous]

SCOTUS refuses to hear the appeal so it looks like the days of $4/hr childcare are truly numbered.

Let’s rejoice. Because what will shake out we hope is a proper cultural exchange treated and compensated fairly (not anything any host mothers described qualifies) vs. paying at least the minimum wage for childcare to people who are often highly qualified, energetic and have other language skills. Families will choose and hopefully self-selection will leave only the decent ones in the first group. Fewer au pairs will come in, and rent-seeking agencies will go out of business.

www.wbur.org/news/2020/06/23/supreme-court-not-reviewing-au-pair-case-massachusetts

[Anonymous]

And now I rest my case. This was fun, thanks for treating a rare case of insomnia. I shall sleep the sleep of the just. Knowing that we treated au pairs well and that the law is catching up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this typical? We pay her the normal weekly stipend. Is there anyone else out there that pays or receives more than is required?

I'm not sure what to do. Feels a little like extortion to me. She's only been with us for three months.

Ha! I was delighted to read that it’s not only typical but is coming for you at $15/hr direct from a federal judge and the Supreme Court who refused to hear the appeal. So in DC, you are looking at $675 if you want 45 hrs per week. And it can only be the approved cultural exchange works. Also unlikely you can deduct 40% or even 0% for room and board. So let’s say it’s the same as in MA, per the court ruling (although some would argue $0 deduction since the au pair must room and board with your family), you can deduct about 13%, so you should be paying $587 per week. Let me know if you still claim you’re in it for a cultural exchange. Really curious.