Reply to Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Everyone should know that DC recently introduced a proposed bill to include domestic workers in the DC Human Rights Act.

Please see the Wash Post article here:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-protects-most-workers-from-discrimination-but-not-nannies-or-housekeepers/2019/08/22/3f0bdbd6-c2dc-11e9-9986-1fb3e4397be4_story.html

Please write to your council member to urge them to EXCLUDE au pairs from this legislation.  I recently wrote to Mary Cheh, who is our Ward 3 Council member with this message:

Hi Councilmember Cheh,
We live Ward 3 and recently read about the Domestic Workers bill that was co-introduced by you and some other Council members, and were wondering about its applicability to au pairs.  As you may know, many families in Ward 3 have au pairs through the Department of State au pair program where au pairs can come to the United States with a J1 visa to provide childcare in exchange for room and board, education costs, and many other benefits including a $200 stipend each week.

Our family has had an amazing experience with the au pair program.  In addition to the required weekly stipend and room and board, we provide cell phone service, gym membership, car insurance and gas at no additional cost to our au pairs.

You may be aware that Massachusetts has a Domestic Workers bill of rights and a federal court recently held that the legislation also protects au pairs.   This means that an au pair is subject to minimum wage rules in ADDITION to receiving a free place to live, all meals, education costs, visa and other immigration related costs, transportation costs, etc.

In Massachusetts, the result of the recent court decision on the Domestic Workers bill of rights applicability to au pairs has resulted in a mass exodus of au pairs who are being sent home because host families are pulling out of the program as it makes no financial sense to keep an au pair anymore.

We are all for a living wage.  But the whole point of a living wage is that it is enough to live on:  to pay your rent/mortgage, buy food, pay for transportation.  Au pairs do not have to pay for those things, and so it does not make sense to lump them in with other domestic workers who truly have to bear those types of expenses.

Could you please take a look at the proposed legislation that you co-sponsored and let me know its position on au pairs?  We, like many other DC families, would be interested in knowing this information.
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from the article it seems like many states have passed this bill including NY, were Au pairs excluded from the legistration?[/quote]

Yes, au pairs were explicitly excluded in NY. [/quote]

Ok thanks! I will email my Councilmember, it probably make sense to add to the letter that state like New York have excluded AP from the Bill.[/quote]

I will write our Councilmember too.  [/quote]

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