Report: Shortchanged: The Big Business Behind the Low Wage J-1 Au Pair Program

A new report released today reveals the widespread abuse and lack of justice that tens of thousands of au pairs who provide childcare face in the United States, while exposing the flaws of the J-1 guestworker program that recruits them.

The report, titled “Shortchanged: The Big Business Behind the Low Wage J-1 Au Pair Program,” was authored by the International Human Rights Law Clinic (IHRLC) at the American University Washington College of Law, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM), the International Labor Recruitment Working Group (ILRWG), the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), and Matahari Women Workers’ Center.

Every year, tens of thousands of internationally recruited au pairs come to the United States with the promises of a cultural exchange under the J-1 guestworker program, regulated by State Department. Instead, many find wage theft, discrimination and abuse in childcare jobs that pay $4.35 per hour. Often, disreputable sponsor agencies advertise the au pair program as inexpensive childcare or domestic work to host parents, while charging au pairs from around the world thousands of dollars in exchange of an educational experience.

KJ