Whether federal law preempts the application of state and local labor laws to the terms and conditions of participation in the federal au pair program

QUESTION PRESENTED The federal au pair program is a 30-year-old international cultural exchange program, authorized by Congress and administered by the State Department, that invites young foreigners to visit the United States as au pairs. Participants receive room, board, and a weekly stipend from their host families, as well as subsidized tuition to take classes at an American college or university. In exchange, they provide their host families with limited child-care services. Detailed federal regulations govern all aspects of the au pair/host family relationship, including the maximum number of hours au pairs may work and the minimum stipend host families must pay. In 2015, Massachusetts announced that it intended to begin applying its own state labor laws to the au pair program. Petitioners, two host parents and one of the private sponsoring agencies that help operate the program, brought suit challenging those laws as preempted by federal law. The First Circuit solicited the views of the United States, which filed an amicus brief expressing its considered views that state efforts to regulate participation in the au pair program are preempted and would undermine critical program goals. Despite having requested those views, the First Circuit proceeded to reject them across the board, holding that Massachusetts (and other states) are free to apply their own labor laws to the au pair program. The question presented is: Whether federal law preempts the application of state and local labor laws to the terms and conditions of participation in the federal au pair program.