A class-action lawsuit filed by Boies Schiller Flexner involving 91,000 au pairs is making the case that the longstanding U.S. program violates federal and state wage laws and exploits young people traveling from abroad to care for American children, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The report followed a ruling by a federal judge in Denver allowing 91,000 au pairs to join together to press antitrust, fraud and other claims against organizations designated by the U.S. State Department to sponsor the au pair program, clearing the way for the 3 1/2-year-old case to continue toward trial.
Dawn Smalls, a Boies Schiller Flexner partner representing the au pairs, told the Wall Street Journal the marketing behind the program is consistent, touted as a life-changing exchange to the au pairs and a low-cost-domestic-worker program to the families. “They’re not very compatible in terms of expectations,” Smalls was quoted as saying.
Partners Matt Schwartz and Peter Skinner; counsel Joshua Libling; and associates Byron Pacheco and Sean Rodriguez are also on the BSF team representing the au pairs in the class action, which was filed with co-counsel Towards Justice.