Immigration reform and the nanny market

[Anonymous]

If anything, more parents will opt to pay OFF the books.

Nothing can change this tax avoidance, until employer penalties outweigh the savings.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this will affect how many people pay on the books. If someone is hiring someone not authorized to work in the US, I think the chances are greater that they're not all that concerned with applicable tax law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this will affect how many people pay on the books. If someone is hiring someone not authorized to work in the US, I think the chances are greater that they're not all that concerned with applicable tax law.

It follows to reason, that if the legal costs of being an employer go up, more employers will go under the table. Many of them can't really afford a nanny as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Immigration reform is not a done deal.

What would you like to see, as it applies to 'domestic help'?

Mandatory withholding of state and Fed taxes, minimim four weeks notice from employer, all fed. Holidays off with psy or double time if nanny works. On fed holidays. Same hourly pay for night because nanny still has to be on duty, alert, for kids. Enforcable contracts. No more job cteep. I'm not a na..y so they will have more. A nation-wide law the same as in New York.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If anything, nanny wages will skyrocket. Lots of families will need to take care of their own children.

Agree with others that the opposite will occur in areas like DC where employers pay on the books. I know that when we were hiring there were a few candidates that I really liked but they weren't legal so we had to knock them off our list. The pool of our favorite and legal candidates was therefore smaller. While we weren't looking for a lower rate, if we had been choosing among 6 good legal candidates rather than 3,it would have meant that we could negotiate a lower rate.

It may not affect areas outside of DC where paying nannies under the table is the norm. There is an incentive for the nannies to under report their income to get access to services and take more money home. There is an incentive for employers not to deal with the hassle of taxes and say 7.5%. There is little chance of either side getting caught so I doubt immigration reform will change the market in these areas.

So true about nannies wanting under-the-table pay in some parts of the country. When we lived in southern Califormia, we had hired a legal nanny. When I prepared to file my quarterly tax return reporting her as a household employee, the nanny got very upset. Never in her almost 20 years of nanny work had an employers reported her income, why would I do this to her, this would affect her husband's tax and benefits. Needless to say, we parted ways.

[Anonymous]

Parents who do not pay on books should have a minimim mamdatory jail sentence of up to one year. This will ensure obeyi.g law

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Immigration reform is not a done deal.

What would you like to see, as it applies to 'domestic help'?

Mandatory withholding of state and Fed taxes, minimim four weeks notice from employer, all fed. Holidays off with psy or double time if nanny works. On fed holidays. Same hourly pay for night because nanny still has to be on duty, alert, for kids. Enforcable contracts. No more job cteep. I'm not a na..y so they will have more. A nation-wide law the same as in New York.

You all know, that the nanny agencies are fighting this like crazy. That's why they're not letting INA nannies advocate for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents who do not pay on books should have a minimim mamdatory jail sentence of up to one year. This will ensure obeyi.g law

PP, please read my post above about our experience in southern California. We always hire legal nannies, and pay the required taxes for them.

What surprises me, is how many legal nannies I have interviewed (and hired in one case) who want to be paid off the books because they do not want to pay taxes, or because it will affect whatever state or federal benefits they are currently receiving. As I said, I had to part ways with one legal nanny in southern California because she did not want to be reported as our employee.

Actually, California has a pervasive underground economy in general of merchants and service providers who do not want to report transactions in order to avoid the tax consequences. That State has a broken tax system, but then it almost singlehandedly processes and handles illegal immigration/immigrants into the United States without much help from the federal Government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Immigration reform is not a done deal.

What would you like to see, as it applies to 'domestic help'?

Mandatory withholding of state and Fed taxes, minimim four weeks notice from employer, all fed. Holidays off with psy or double time if nanny works. On fed holidays. Same hourly pay for night because nanny still has to be on duty, alert, for kids. Enforcable contracts. No more job cteep. I'm not a na..y so they will have more. A nation-wide law the same as in New York.

You all know, that the nanny agencies are fighting this like crazy. That's why they're not letting INA nannies advocate for themselves.

They know that these nanny labor laws are not good for their profits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Immigration reform is not a done deal.

What would you like to see, as it applies to 'domestic help'?

Mandatory withholding of state and Fed taxes, minimim four weeks notice from employer, all fed. Holidays off with psy or double time if nanny works. On fed holidays. Same hourly pay for night because nanny still has to be on duty, alert, for kids. Enforcable contracts. No more job cteep. I'm not a na..y so they will have more. A nation-wide law the same as in New York.

Why not try negotiating for these things?

It's not the government's job to try to legislate for what is outside of market standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Immigration reform is not a done deal.

What would you like to see, as it applies to 'domestic help'?

Mandatory withholding of state and Fed taxes, minimim four weeks notice from employer, all fed. Holidays off with psy or double time if nanny works. On fed holidays. Same hourly pay for night because nanny still has to be on duty, alert, for kids. Enforcable contracts. No more job cteep. I'm not a na..y so they will have more. A nation-wide law the same as in New York.

Why not try negotiating for these things?

It's not the government's job to try to legislate for what is outside of market standards.

Thanks for your comment.

[Anonymous]

It is our job to advocate for the same labor protections that every other American has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is our job to advocate for the same labor protections that every other American has.

+10000

PP should the coal miners have tried to negotiate? Firefighters? Teachers? Their unions fought for standards that would ensure they were ALL treated fairly regardless of who employed them or what country they originated from. Nannies, fast food workers, retail staff, they all deserve the same protection under the law.

[Anonymous]

What about those nannies who will still ask to be paid off the books so as to avoid paying taxes, and keep their federal and state benefits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about those nannies who will still ask to be paid off the books so as to avoid paying taxes, and keep their federal and state benefits?

If you paid them a living wage, what benefits would they need?