Au Pair Suit Brings Domestic Worker Abuse Into Spotlight

"As a class action unfolds in Colorado alleging au pairs on the J-1 visa program have had their wages fixed at $4.35 per hour, Law360 takes a closer look at the exploitation of domestic workers by abusive employers who range from middle-class families to high-ranking diplomats.  [Link to Beltran v. Noonan complaint.]

The Colorado class action is just the latest legal battle over the exploitation of domestic workers from abroad, a problem that experts say is often hard to detect, because of workers' isolation in homes in addition to their lack of financial resources and often limited language skills.

According to a staff attorney with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Elly Kugler, there are an estimated 2 million domestic workers and home care providers in America, and the rate of exploitation seems to be relatively high. Suzanne Tomatore, the director of the Immigrant Women & Children Project at the City Bar Justice Center of New York City, told Law360 that the majority of their cases involve domestic workers.

"When we looked at about 150 of our cases, we found that 79.3 percent involved domestic work," said Tomatore. "It's usually a combination of child care and cleaning and cooking in the home. So, most people are asked to do all three."

In the class action taking place in Colorado federal court, a slew of sponsor organizations for the au pair program overseen by the U.S. Department of State are accused of conspiring to fix participants' wages at $195.75 per week, which comes to $4.35 per hour in a 45-hour week.

The complaint is a pointed critique of the J-1 visa's au pair program, which the plaintiffs say has devolved into a cheap source of migrant labor for U.S. families. On top of its antitrust claims, the suit brings minimum wage allegations against sponsors like nonprofit InterExchange Inc., as well as claims of racketeering and fraud." - Allissa Wickham, Law360, Mar. 30, 2015.