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| A Court Said Au Pairs Deserve Minimum Wage. Some Families are Protesting. | A Court Said Au Pairs Deserve Minimum Wage. Some Families are Protesting. |
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| 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. — 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. |
| 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 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. |
| “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 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.” |
| 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. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| “If we don’t get immediate resolution, I would have to cut back as soon as this spring,” she said. | “If we don’t get immediate resolution, I would have to cut back as soon as this spring,” she said. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. |