Anonymous
Post 02/10/2020 08:50     Subject: Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote:Any updates on this?


No, nothing is going to happen till fall. Also best you subscribe (link below) to the council website to get direct updates when there is one.

http://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B23-0442
Anonymous
Post 02/10/2020 03:43     Subject: Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Any updates on this?
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2020 21:33     Subject: Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Hi all - I'm a current Massachusetts mom formerly DC/MD mom, but if you are interested in joining with us on a nationwide coalition to address some of the possible changes to the au pair program, please find us here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/519447878928400
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2020 17:50     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


from the article it seems like many states have passed this bill including NY, were Au pairs excluded from the legistration?


Yes, au pairs were explicitly excluded in NY.



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.




I will write our Councilmember too.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2019 09:30     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote:Yes I just followed up on my last message to Councilmember Cheh to let her know that NY state understood the au pair program was distinct and already offers the protections they are seeking to achieve with this legislation, and therefore excluded au pairs from the law.


I think this is the key takeaway right here. The AP regulations actually have a lot of built in protections that your average domestic or migrant worker does not have. They are required to have an LCC within a certain radius, regular check-ins, background checks, personality tests, rematch rights, requirements for their room and board, etc etc.
And, cynically, I think the fact that it is for young people who are NOT financially motivated to stick it out in a bad situation is one of those protections.
Can the agencies do a better job ENFORCING those requirements?
Yes.
Should the federal minimum wage and, therefore, the AP stipend be raised?
Yes.
But it sounds like what is happening in MA is that families will pay more but APs will make the same or less after all those deductions and paying for hours worked only, which benefits exactly no one.
Anonymous
Post 12/21/2019 09:11     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Yes I just followed up on my last message to Councilmember Cheh to let her know that NY state understood the au pair program was distinct and already offers the protections they are seeking to achieve with this legislation, and therefore excluded au pairs from the law.
Anonymous
Post 12/21/2019 08:34     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


from the article it seems like many states have passed this bill including NY, were Au pairs excluded from the legistration?


Yes, au pairs were explicitly excluded in NY.



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.
Anonymous
Post 12/20/2019 21:50     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: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.


from the article it seems like many states have passed this bill including NY, were Au pairs excluded from the legistration?


Yes, au pairs were explicitly excluded in NY.
Anonymous
Post 12/20/2019 20:33     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote: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.


from the article it seems like many states have passed this bill including NY, were Au pairs excluded from the legistration?
Anonymous
Post 12/20/2019 18:26     Subject: Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

I’m in Mass and just saw my first au pair post on our local FB nanny page. She was ‘affected’ by the law change and her family terminated her match. She’s looking for another local family. We stopped using APs last year because we saw the writing on the wall.

It is only a matter of time before more states follow
Anonymous
Post 12/20/2019 13:39     Subject: Re:Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

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.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2019 11:36     Subject: Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

Anonymous wrote:I'm a former HM in MoCo considering getting another AP. MoCo minimum wage is about to be $13 for small employers. (I think that's what a household would fall under?) Does this mean I'd have to pay the AP $13/ hr? What would the deduction be? I'm in upcounty so I can get a nanny for cheaper than in the city and trying to decide. For a 40 hour work week, the agency fee works out to about $5/hr. So I could pay a nanny that much more over the AP and it would be a wash (plus no paying for food, phone, etc). I'm thinking at this point a nanny is cheaper.


This doesn’t affect people outside of the first district (yet). Massachusetts mostly. If nanny is cheaper get one.
Anonymous
Post 12/19/2019 10:19     Subject: Wow. No discussion about the death of the AP program here?

This ruling doesnt apply to you, MontCo mom.