LEGAL NOTICE

YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A CASH AWARD

If you participated in Au Pair in America’s au pair program and resided with a Host Family in California at any time between January 8, 2020 and July 25, 2022, you are entitled to receive a settlement payment.

A United States federal district court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don’t act. 

A Settlement has been proposed to resolve litigation against Defendant American Institute for Foreign Study, Inc (d/b/a Au Pair In America), brought by Plaintiff Isabella Savini Merante, a former participant in Defendant’s au pair program.

This Notice was sent to inform you that the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the Honorable Edward M. Chen presiding, has preliminarily approved the terms of the Settlement, and to let you know about your options with respect to the Settlement. If you want to participate in the settlement and receive a settlement payment, you do not need to do anything. Alternatively, you may choose to exclude yourself from the settlement. Finally, you may object to the Settlement.

Who Is Included?

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you participated in Au Pair in America’s au pair program and resided with a Host Family in California at any time between January 8, 2020 and July 25, 2022.

What is this case about?

Plaintiff Isabella Savini Merante filed a lawsuit against American Institute for Foreign Study, Inc (d/b/a Au Pair In America) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entitled Merante v. American Institute for Foreign Study, Inc. (the “Lawsuit”), Case No. 3:21-cv-03234-EMC. Plaintiff Merante brought a claim for civil penalties under the California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”) alleging that she and other au pairs were not paid as required by California law. Plaintiff also alleges that she and other au pairs did not receive accurate wage statements as required by California Labor Code Section 226.

Au Pair in America denies all of Plaintiff’s allegations, and the Court has not made any decision on the merits of Plaintiff’s claims. However, in order to avoid the time, expense and uncertainty of additional litigation, the parties have agreed to a settlement of the Lawsuit.

What does the Settlement provide?

If the Settlement is approved, Defendant will pay $1,000,000.00 to fully and finally resolve all claims in the Action. After deduction of certain payments and expenses (service payment to the Plaintiff, attorneys’ fees and costs, PAGA civil penalties to the LWDA, and costs of settlement administration) the remaining amount (called the Net Settlement Amount) will be paid to Participating Class Members proportional to the number of workweeks they spent as members of the Class.

According to Defendants’ records, you participated in Defendant’s au pair program and resided with a Host Family in California for: X weeks during the time period from January 8, 2020 through July 25, 2022. Based on the above criteria, your estimated Individual Class Settlement Payment is $9,999.99.

If the Settlement is approved, you will also receive an Individual PAGA Payment. Your Individual PAGA Payment will be calculated by multiplying the above-referenced resulting fraction by $25,000 (the portion of the PAGA Civil Penalty Payment allocated for payment to PAGA Members). You will receive this PAGA payment even if you exclude yourself from the Class.

How do I receive a class settlement payment?

If you received this Email Notice and want to receive a class settlement payment, you do not need to do anything. You will remain a member of the Settlement Class, and if the Court grants final approval of the settlement, you will receive an Individual Class Settlement Payment based on the number of weeks you participated in Au Pair in America’s program and resided with a Host Family in California between January 8, 2020 through July 25, 2022. In exchange, you give up the right to sue Defendant for the Class Member Released Claims, which are defined in Section 9 of the Settlement Notice. To ensure you receive your Individual Class Settlement Payment, all you need to do is keep the Settlement Administrator informed of your current email address. If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement, the Administrator will email your payment to the email address on file for you via PayPal. You will have only 30 days from receipt of the PayPal email to claim your funds.

If you want to receive your payment via ACH transfer rather than PayPal, click here. You will be asked to provide the Administrator with your bank information.

What are my other options?

If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself by October 24, 2022 or you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, Au Pair in America for any of the claims resolved by the Settlement. To exclude yourself, you must provide all required information. If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money from this Settlement. If you stay in the Settlement Class but wish to object, you must do so by October 24, 2022. Details for excluding yourself or objecting to the Settlement can be found in the Settlement Notice.

The Court will hold a hearing in this case on December 15, 2022, to consider whether to approve the Settlement. At the hearing, the Court will also consider a request by the lawyers representing all Settlement Class Members for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the Settlement, as well as for a Service Award to the Class Representative for her time participating in the case. You may ask to appear at the hearing, but you do not have to.