If she sponsored her own student visa (which is costly, so how could she do this with no income), then she is here legally and can live wherever she wants.

She was an Au Pair but now is working for another family. They are not sponsoring her. She is just living with them rent free and watches the kids. Is this even legal???

So, based on your additional information, she sounds like a former Au Pair. She is probably not working for "free". Her host family sponsored her student visa, which includes paying for her education, which is not cheap. It often works out to more costly than the Au Pair program.

Also, your costs for an Au Pair are not just $200/week, it is also the $8000 program fee, which pays for their visa and similar. It works out to a total of $350/week (not including room and board), and divided by a max of 45 hrs/week= $7.75/hr which is minimum wage.

So, as others said, you must pay minimum wage to a live-in- nanny, and you cannot deduct rent from it. So, figure on $350/week.

The bigger issue is if you take the "nanny" from the other family, they can cancel her student visa, which they are sponsoring, student visas are non-transferable to a new family.

I would pay her $10 an hour when she has the kids, and ask her to do some light cleaning (dishwasher, sweep kitchen floors) and most of childcare duties (kid laundry, bedding, tidy toys, etc). The reduced rate to account for free room and board, but she's still getting something towards her school fees and savings (well, as much as you can save from that).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many more details needed, OP. Did you ask her what you'd need to pay her? Start there.

She works for free. So I'd start there, if she says she is not willing to leave her current family for the same arrangement try upping it to rent + $5/hr when she is with the kids. So ~$80-100 a week.

My absolute max ceiling for live in is $200 a week plus room and board since that is what an pairs make, but then I also need about 32 hours a week of care.

You cannot pay someone $6.25 an HOUR. They get a bug up their ass, call DOL and the tax man and you are fucked (deservedly).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many more details needed, OP. Did you ask her what you'd need to pay her? Start there.

She works for free. So I'd start there, if she says she is not willing to leave her current family for the same arrangement try upping it to rent + $5/hr when she is with the kids. So ~$80-100 a week.

My absolute max ceiling for live in is $200 a week plus room and board since that is what an pairs make, but then I also need about 32 hours a week of care.

Legally you have to pay minimum wage. You can't take " rent " from minimum wage.

People desperate for a place to live and some spending money aren't worried about "legally"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many more details needed, OP. Did you ask her what you'd need to pay her? Start there.

She works for free. So I'd start there, if she says she is not willing to leave her current family for the same arrangement try upping it to rent + $5/hr when she is with the kids. So ~$80-100 a week.

My absolute max ceiling for live in is $200 a week plus room and board since that is what an pairs make, but then I also need about 32 hours a week of care.

Legally you have to pay minimum wage. You can't take " rent " from minimum wage.

Anonymous wrote:So many more details needed, OP. Did you ask her what you'd need to pay her? Start there.

She works for free. So I'd start there, if she says she is not willing to leave her current family for the same arrangement try upping it to rent + $5/hr when she is with the kids. So ~$80-100 a week.

My absolute max ceiling for live in is $200 a week plus room and board since that is what an pairs make, but then I also need about 32 hours a week of care.

I don't know these details. Will ask her.

Also, her "employer" may be sponsoring her student visa, and therefore she can't leave them.

Is she a former Au Pair, who is staying in America on a student visa?
Basically, student visas don't allow for off-campus employment, and very minimal on-campus employment.
Therefore this may not even be a legal situation.

Her employer is likely her former Au Pair host family who agreed to keep her, and is paying her a low wage.
I would tread carefully.

Would it be reasonable to ask for light housekeeping? My 4-year old goes to preschool until 12. My youngest is an infant and I would like to start leaving her with a nanny in a couple of months. I am assuming her classes will be in the morning and she could help out in the late afternoon. We would like to go out every other weekend or just sleep in. I just wonder what other families get from live-in nannies. My understanding is that most families have their nannies work 40-50 hours per week. I don't work so I would need her only for 20 hours maybe. But given the fact that she will live rent free and will not have to buy food, we should've able to get the best out of the situation, right?

I am new to this. I didn't ask her. So I am asking here. How much would you pay? Right now she is being pimped in my opinion. She is on student visa and wants to get a degree so living rent free is a big deal to her. Her current employer forgets to buy groceries so the poor girl is losing weight! They usually eat out.
If she is with us, she will be taken care of but I am just not sure what to pay. I onl know that the other family pays her $20 an hour for 4 kids. She obviously needs money since she tries to save up to pay for school. She doesn't have medical insurance. I guess we could offer her that too. But then what would you expect from her and how much would you pay?

So many more details needed, OP. Did you ask her what you'd need to pay her? Start there.

She would live in a separate apartment in the house, we would buy groceries. She is going to take classes throughout the week. We have 2 kids. Need her for 16-20 hours a week, maybe more. We want to get a car for her so she can drive the kids. How much should we offer? Right now she is living with a family and watches kids, does laundry for free. Works for another family on weekends and gets $20 per hour to watch 4 kids.