Immigration Enforcement and the Private Home: What Every Employer Needs to Understand

Pink Nannies Table presents a conversation with Erica Sklar, National Organizer for Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network.

In this episode, we sit down with Erica Sklar, National Organizer at Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network, to talk about what responsible leadership looks like inside the home. As immigration enforcement remains in the national conversation, many families who employ nannies are unsure what their role should be. Erica helps break through the confusion and offers clear, practical guidance for employers who want to lead with integrity.

This conversation explores what it means to treat your home like a professional workplace. From written contracts to emergency planning, Erica explains how structure and transparency build trust between families and the domestic workers who support their households.

At Pink Nannies, we believe that kindness and professionalism are not opposites. They work best together. Thoughtful planning, clear expectations, and respect for the people who make our homes function are part of responsible household leadership. This conversation is about how families can create homes that reflect those values every day.

For more resources on how to support your nanny, visit Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network’s website. 

Featured Guest:

Erica Sklar

National Organizer, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network

Hosted by:

Allison Goren

Founder, Pink Nannies

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Pink Table. I'm Alison, founder and CEO of Pink Mannies. And today we are having a conversation that I know so many families are thinking about, but maybe not discussing openly. There has been an increased conversation in the media around immigration enforcement. And when you employ someone in your home, especially in the DMB area, it's very natural to wonder does this affect my household? And should I be thinking about something differently? Before we go into any further, this conversation is not about politics or policy opinions or taking sides. It's about responsibility. And employers plan, employers prepare, and they operate with clarity. There is an estimated 2.2 million domestic workers in the United States as of 2025. In Washington, DC alone, there's an estimated 47,000 domestic workers. It's not a small community, it's a major workforce. And the DMV especially, this workforce is woven into how life functions. I know physicians, attorneys, federal employees, entrepreneurs, dual career households, they all rely on it. So today we're talking about what it means to lead your household responsibly in this moment. And I am joined by Erica Saglar, the lead national organizer in hand in hand, the Domestic Employers Network. Erica's organizing has taken so many shapes from nonviolent direct action to the right to fight for environmental justice through the policy change as a director on Washington State's campaign for carbon tax. She has also worked for Representative Premilla Jaipal and the ACLU of Washington, where she tracked nearly a thousand bills making their way through the state legislature. In her role as national organiz organizer, Erica leads hand-in-hand policy and implementation campaigns in cities and states across the country and really supports the passage of federal policy. She lives in Richmond, Virginia. Erica, thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Thank you so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here. Um, really off the top, just want to appreciate the tone that you're setting and sure that in our work at hand in hand, we know that families really want to do the right thing. Um, and they don't always know what that is. So I'm I'm glad we're here together to create some clarity.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Awesome. I am too. Well, let's start with a big question. Families are hearing about immigration enforcement in the news. Some feel really concerned, others feel unsure. And as we know, there's a lot of confusion. So, from your perspective, why should domestic employers at least be aware of this moment?

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Yeah, it's a great question. And you're right, a question that many, many people across the country are thinking about, and especially employers of domestic workers like nannies and also home care workers and house cleaners. The reality is that domestic work takes place behind closed doors in private homes, but it is still employment. And almost half of domestic workers across the country are immigrants. More than half in many cities are immigrants. And at this moment, even when someone's legal status is secure, broader enforcement activity creates a lot of uncertainty within communities. And families really need to have things like emergency plans and precautions in place, not just to be sure that they're caring for and have a plan for people who work for them, but also so that they have good backup care for children, people with disabilities, or older adults in case enforcement does impact our own homes. You know, awareness really just means that you know what's going on and how it might influence what's happening in your own home and how safe and stable your own employee might feel coming to work. So we we say it hand in hand that being prepared is also a form of good management and being a good employer.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Yeah. And that word management is so important. You know, in the DMV, many of our families work inside highly structured systems. So they understand compliance in their personal lives, in the prof and in their professional lives. They also understand documentation and contingency planning. So sometimes what's missing is just translating that same mindset into the home. If you can manage risk in your office, you can also manage it in your household. And I want to normalize something. You can care deeply about someone and still have clear structure. Those things actually work better together, not against each other. So let's talk specifically about DC. We have the domestic workers' bill of rights here that requires written contracts, fair wages, protection from discrimination and retaliation. What does it truly mean to treat your home like a professional workplace?

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Great question. When your home is a professional workplace, that means that you're recognizing employment law applies, even when the setting is your house and it feels personal and very intimate. So, um, especially with regard to the domestic workers' bill of rights, that written agreement does a lot of work to clarify things like compensation, when people get paid, overtime pay, time off, expectations of the job, and things like boundaries. A lot of times we hear people say about their domestic workers that they treat them like family. And we love that. We want people to treat one another well and to take good care of one another. And part of that is clarity and transparency. And those things protect both parties, right? A contract removes the assumptions that we might make. And um, you know, employers are really busy and sometimes forget exactly what they put in the job description. And so things aren't always clear. So having something like a written um a written contract or a written agreement that has all those job expectations is something you can go back to and revisit and have a lot of clarity about what's working, what's not working, what's been added, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah, and I want to expand on that for our listeners. Being kind is not the same as being compliant. I have worked with incredible families in the DMV who were deeply generous, but unintentionally out of compliance because no one explained overtime laws or even payroll requirements to them. They weren't being negligent. They were just uninformed. You know, professional health hold, they run payroll correctly. They understand payroll overtime and they document expectations, they revisit contracts annually. And I would say that that's something that's really responsible as an employer. And especially in this region, so many families operate at a high professional standard in their careers. And the same level of structure belongs in the home. And this is where things get really delicate. Many employers don't want to say the wrong thing, and they don't want to make their nanny uncomfortable or their domestic worker uncomfortable. Erica, in your own opinion, how can families signal support without crossing that boundary?

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Yeah, it's a great question. And it's a question that families across the country are really wrestling with right now. Um, I'll say the clearest boundary is this. We should never ask about immigration status. It's not necessary and it creates a lot of fear. It also creates liability for employers. So instead, at hand in hand, we invite employers to create a culture of preparedness, just like you would do things like post-emergency contacts, medical information, um, expectations around who to call for what reason. We really recommend that employers have emergency contacts on hand for anyone that works for them. This is something that's common practice in all workplaces and important for any worker for lots of reasons, right? That have nothing to do with immigration enforcement. People have accidents or no-shows, we worry about them and want to make sure that they're okay. Other families do things like hang a poster that might make their home feel more welcoming to workers. People can keep know their know your rights materials um accessible or even take a know your rights training so you can pass that information along. Other people have red cards, which have um some know your rights materials on them. Some people keep those on hand in accessible languages. And really, I think the bottom line is that it's really about making sure that everyone has access to the information that keeps us safe. And these, you know, having these things visible and available help workers to feel safe while also signaling that in an emergency, their employers know what to do, they're prepared, and they're competent. That framing is so important.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

You're not interrogating or assuming or labeling, you're creating an environment where structure is present. And here's something that I want families to hear really clearly. And Erica, all those things that you said are so valuable, but silence can sometimes be louder than imperfection. If your nanny is hearing about enforcement in the news and you don't say anything, they may assume that you're unaware or maybe you're uninterested. You know, I always say you don't need a dramatic conversation, you just need steady leadership in the household for people to follow. And so I think that that's also really important. And also, you know, I think that the planning, it needs to be very practical. If I'm a family in Potomac or Capitol Hill or Chevy Chase, maybe Arlington, what should an emergency plan include?

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Great question. Um, an emergency plan, number one, should include emergency contacts for all parties involved. There should be a very clear backup child care plan for any involved parties who are caring for someone under 18. So that could mean multiple things. That could mean um that the worker who has a child has a backup plan. It also could mean um that there's some clarity about who picks up a child if a nanny is not able to care for them unexpectedly. There should be copies made of important documents and they should be stored safely. Families can walk through these scenarios and think them through in advance. You know, you can also do even more. There are template emergency plans available. Uh, we link to them on our website, domesticemployers.org. Um, I would say with children, focusing on reassurance is really important, both for nannies and for employers, to say we're always going to make sure that you're safe. In an emergency, there's going to be a clear next step. I will share that there have been situations around the country where children whose parents have not done this important work end up in kind of difficult situations, sometimes sitting and waiting in local police stations while a trusted adult is is found. And it doesn't have to be the case, but it does mean planning ahead, making sure that everyone knows what the next step is if there is an emergency like this. So, you know, planning reduces fear for all parties because it helps to remove uncertainty.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Yeah, and that's exactly how I see it. You know, if you think about this, we plan for so snowstorms, we plan for sick days, we plan for travel delays. This is simply contingency planning. And for families listening, creating a one-page emergency plan, it doesn't signal panic. It says, I take my role as an employer seriously. And beyond contracts and emergency plans, Erica, what are practical adjustments families can consider day to day?

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Well, there's a whole slew of them, but definitely things like shifting errands so that domestic workers are not needing to be out and about so that families take care of those errands could be one thing, or using delivery services instead. You know, I think this is where communication and the individual nature of domestic work really comes into play. But checking in regularly and asking, you know, if there's any workplace flexibility that would make things feel better or more secure for a domestic worker is important. There's some domestic workers have shared that they aren't feeling safe using things like public transit. So paying for more secure rides or giving a ride if that's accessible, and really making sure that employers are staying informed, right? Like things change where enforcement is happening changes, making sure that, you know, just like we would with weather and other various emergencies, we're knowing kind of like what's happening where and being responsible to stay educated ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

I appreciate this conversation is not about drastic changes. It's about small, thoughtful adjustments. And that is something that every household in the DMV understands. If someone is listening and thinking, I want to do the right thing, but I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing, Erica, what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Oh, I would say, of course, you don't want to say the wrong thing. This is a nerve-wracking time. You know, people are nervous. People want to show support in just the right way, but you know, you don't have to be perfect. And what you said, Allison, is so resonant for me that silence, silence is loud, and silence is really hard for for workers. So I think, you know, leading with thoughtfulness and with with kindness is what really makes the biggest difference. Um, I like to always say like it's better to be kind than it is to be right. So focus on what you can offer, I think just lead with that. Your preparation and your thinking about it at all starts to build trust and and communicates a lot of respect.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Well, thank you for saying that. And your home can be warm and still be professional. Your nanny can feel like an extension of you and still deserve formal employment protection. So, to the millions of domestic workers nationally and tens of thousands in DC alone, this workforce supports the operational backbone of our region. Um, you know, when you employ someone, you are stepping into leadership, and that's not political. It is responsible and dignity is not optional. Erica, thank you so much for taking your time today to speak with me. And thank you to all of our listeners who's here joining us at the Pink Table. Thanks so much, Alison. It was a pleasure to join you today. Thank you. Have a great day.