A court rules au pairs must be treated on a par with other workers

“IT WAS CREEPY. I avoided any contact with the father…there were always periods where [I] didn’t get paid for a few weeks”, said an au pair quoted in a 2018 report on problems in the au-pair industry. The report, written by the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the American University, revealed that many au pairs endured illegally low wages and abuse. One au pair interviewed was forced to sleep in a dog’s play area. Another developed a bladder infection because she wasn’t permitted enough bathroom breaks.

In America au pairs occupy a curious legal space. A State Department programme allows 20,000 young foreigners to spend a year or two in America to attend college classes while living with an American host family. In exchange for providing up to 45 hours of child care, they are paid a stipend of at least $195.75 a week, or $4.35 per hour. Critics say that the programme, which has little oversight, is rife with abuse. In early December, an appeals court in Massachusetts struck a blow for au pairs when it upheld a ruling that in a number of north-eastern states and Puerto Rico, they must be covered by the same protective laws that apply to other workers.