“By that time, I was seriously afraid of my work, to be honest.[] When I was talking to my LCC (cultural care representative), she told me to wait a few days more. Then, she got involved, but the host family really scared me, saying that my participation in the program was at risk if I said something.”
“That’s a huge problem when someone is there and something like this happens. The agency usually scares you so no one talks about it or call[s] the Department of State.”
Abuse and exploitation of labor
In far too many cases, au pairs receive last minute hours added to their work. Yet, host families often choose not to pay for these extra hours of labor. In many cases, the extra hours include tasks beyond the scope of work agreed upon in the beginning.
The extra tasks may include pet cleaning and house cleaning; neither of these tasks fall under the umbrella of responsibilities for au pairs.
Many of the au pairs I spoke with also claimed the host families undergo zero background checks from the agencies setting them up with au pairs.
