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Version 2 Version 3
A Court Said Au Pairs Deserve Minimum Wage. Some Families are Protesting. A Court Said Au Pairs Deserve Minimum Wage. Some Families Are Protesting.
(about 5 hours later)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Stephanie Mayberg, a physician assistant in Southborough, Mass., got an email from her au pair agency last month telling her that a court ruling meant that her child care costs were increasing by 250 percent. She said she was stunned. The recent federal court decision, that au pairs were entitled to the rights of domestic workers in Massachusetts, including being paid a minimum wage, left Ms. Mayberg wondering how she and her husband could afford to keep their au pair from Colombia for a second year. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — When Stephanie Mayberg, a physician assistant, learned that a court ruling meant her child care costs were about to increase by 250 percent, she was stunned. The recent federal court decision, that au pairs were entitled to the rights of domestic workers in Massachusetts, including being paid a minimum wage, left Ms. Mayberg, of Southborough, wondering how she and her husband could afford to keep their au pair from Colombia for a second year.
But when Claudia Villamizar heard about the ruling, she was elated: Ms. Villamizar, who had once been an au pair in Massachusetts from Colombia, recalled being miserable when a family had required her to work 65 hours a week. She said she welcomed the long overdue recognition for au pairs. But Claudia Villamizar was elated when she heard of the ruling. Ms. Villamizar, who had once been an au pair in Massachusetts from Colombia, recalled being miserable when a family required her to work 65 hours a week — far more than the 45 hours allowed under the federal au pair program. She said the family had kicked her out of the house when she complained.
“Being an au pair was the worst experience I ever had in my 38 years of my life,” Ms. Villamizar said.“Being an au pair was the worst experience I ever had in my 38 years of my life,” Ms. Villamizar said.
Of the legal finding that au pairs were entitled to a minimum wage and protected by Massachusetts’ Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, passed in 2014, she added: “I’m a big supporter, because au pairs are unprotected.” Of the legal finding that au pairs — young people from other countries who come to the United States to live with families and care for their children — were entitled to a minimum wage and protected by Massachusetts’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, passed in 2014, she added, “I’m a big supporter because au pairs are unprotected.”
The ruling in December by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a lawsuit by an au pair agency against the Massachusetts attorney general. The lawsuit sought to prevent the attorney general from applying the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to au pairs, who are young people from other countries who come to the United States on cultural exchange visas, not work visas, to live with families and care for their children. Under a federal program, au pairs are paid a stipend of roughly $195 per week, in addition to receiving room and board. Host families also must pay up to $500 a year toward an au pair’s academic work. The ruling in December by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a lower-court decision dismissing a lawsuit by an au pair agency against the Massachusetts attorney general. The lawsuit sought to prevent the attorney general from applying the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to au pairs.
Under a federal program administered by the State Department, au pairs are paid a stipend of roughly $195 per week, in addition to receiving room and board. Host families also must pay up to $500 a year toward an au pair’s academic work.
In Massachusetts, the decision has thrown families who host au pairs into chaos as they sort through their new responsibilities as employers, and cope with significantly increased child care costs.In Massachusetts, the decision has thrown families who host au pairs into chaos as they sort through their new responsibilities as employers, and cope with significantly increased child care costs.
Families who employ au pairs said they intended to rally at the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to pass bills that would mitigate the effects of the decision. They rallied at the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to pass bills that would mitigate the effects of the decision.
The minimum wage in Massachusetts, $12.75 per hour, means that families who employ au pairs will now have to pay them roughly $528 a week for 45 hours of work. The lawsuit, which was brought in 2016, had been working its way through the courts for several years, but it appeared that many au pair agencies had not warned host families about the pending case or the possibility that the domestic workers rules might apply. The First Circuit decision appears likely to have an impact beyond Massachusetts, in other states that, without explicitly exempting au pairs, offer protections to domestic workers greater than those of the federal au pair regulations. The ruling is binding in the First Circuit, which, in addition to Massachusetts, includes Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico.
The minimum wage in Massachusetts, $12.75 per hour, means that families who employ au pairs will now have to pay them roughly $528 a week for 45 hours of work, when factoring in overtime and a $77 deduction for room and board. The lawsuit, which was brought in 2016, had been working its way through the courts for several years, but it appeared that many au pair agencies had not warned host families about the pending case or the possibility that the domestic workers rules might apply.
Among the proposals that parents’ groups are urging lawmakers to consider, one bill would allow families to deduct up to 40 percent of the weekly wages that they paid au pairs to cover lodging and food. Parents also were hoping legislators would agree to delay until July when the domestic workers rules would apply.Among the proposals that parents’ groups are urging lawmakers to consider, one bill would allow families to deduct up to 40 percent of the weekly wages that they paid au pairs to cover lodging and food. Parents also were hoping legislators would agree to delay until July when the domestic workers rules would apply.
Ms. Mayberg says she is hoping the legislature can provide some relief, so she will not have to cut back her work hours or change jobs in order to afford child care. Several parents said the ruling fundamentally misconstrued the nature of the au pair program, which was designed as a cultural exchange, allowing young people to pursue their education while experiencing everyday life in an American family. Au pair means “on par” in French, and the State Department’s online information about the program says au pairs should be included “whenever possible in family meals, outings, holidays and other events.” Several parents said they considered current or former au pairs to be members of their family.
“If we don’t get immediate resolution, I would have to cut back as soon as this spring,” she said. And in a brief filed with the court, the federal government argued against applying the Massachusetts law to au pairs.
But Monique Tu Nguyen, the executive director of the Matahari Women Workers’ Center in Boston, which organizes women in low-wage jobs, such as house cleaners, nannies and adult caregivers, said that while she understood the shock and frustration families were experiencing, that they were largely the result of a lack of information about the looming issue from the agencies that place au pairs with families. “State and local regulations have the potential to severely undermine the au pair program, particularly if increased costs or record-keeping burdens discourage participation by host families,” the brief said, describing the program as “a valuable tool of U.S. foreign policy.”
But some former au pairs disagreed with the parents and the view of the federal government. Thaty Oliveira, 35, who is from Brazil, was an au pair in Massachusetts in 2003. While she said she had a great experience with the family, and worked at most 30 hours a week, she said that was not the norm among her fellow au pairs, many of whom spent too many hours doing child care to get a rich exposure to American culture. Even in her case, she said, she considers the child care she performed to have been real work, deserving of a minimum wage.
“We’re not asking for a lot,” she said. “It’s really just minimum rights.”
Monique Tu Nguyen, the executive director of the Matahari Women Workers’ Center in Boston, which organizes women in low-wage jobs, such as house cleaners, nannies and adult caregivers, said the shock and frustration that families were experiencing were largely because au pair agencies did not adequately inform them about the looming issue.
She said her organization would push for legislation that would resolve concerns families had about being sued for back pay.She said her organization would push for legislation that would resolve concerns families had about being sued for back pay.
“We want to be given a chance for everyone to see that there’s a third solution beyond what everyone is presenting at the moment,” Ms. Nguyen said.“We want to be given a chance for everyone to see that there’s a third solution beyond what everyone is presenting at the moment,” Ms. Nguyen said.
Massachusetts is the fifth most popular destination for au pairs, with 1,530 new au pairs arriving in 2018, according to data from the State Department, which administers the program. Massachusetts is the fifth-most popular destination for au pairs, with 1,530 new au pairs arriving in 2018, according to data from the State Department, which administers the program.