• 01案件背景和进展

    “豪美月子”老板被判败诉，原告代理律师计划提起刑事诉讼。

    刘龙珠律师成功代理两名华人月嫂与“豪美顶级月子会馆”的薪资纠纷案。近日，洛杉矶华人律师刘龙珠成功代理两位华人月嫂，赢得了与“豪美顶级月子会馆”的薪资纠纷官司。因被告蔡依伦（音译：Yilun Tsai）未出庭，法官在缺席判决中判定原告陈女士和女儿吴小姐胜诉。刘律师在民事诉讼中向蔡依伦提出286576元的索赔，涵盖陈女士的20多万元及吴小姐的7.9万元。目前，索赔文件已递交至法官手中，案件正在等待最终裁决。

    01 Case Background and Progress

    The owner of "Haomei Maternity Center" was found liable in court, and the plaintiffs' attorney plans to file a criminal lawsuit.

    Attorney Liu Longzhu successfully represented two Chinese postpartum caregivers in a wage dispute case against "Haomei Top Maternity Center." Recently, Los Angeles-based Chinese lawyer Liu Longzhu successfully represented two Chinese postpartum caregivers, winning their wage dispute lawsuit against "Haomei Top Maternity Center." Because the defendant, Yilun Tsai, failed to appear in court, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Ms. Chen and her daughter Ms. Wu, in a default judgment. Attorney Liu is seeking ¥286,576 in damages from Yilun Tsai in the civil lawsuit, covering over ¥200,000 for Ms. Chen and ¥79,000 for Ms. Wu. The claim documents have been submitted to the judge, and the case is awaiting a final ruling.

    陈女士透露，自2014年7月至2015年3月，她与女儿在“豪美”担任月嫂，每日工作24小时却仅获得100元薪资，平均时薪不足4.2元，远低于最低时薪标准10.50元。尽管如此，老板蔡依伦仍以孕妇数量不足、生意不佳为由拖欠二人薪资，至两人离职时，累计欠款已达1.4万元。更让陈女士气愤的是，蔡依伦曾两次雇佣假移民官员对她们进行恐吓。

    ▍ 案件进展

    陈女士表示，当时那个假移民官员身上佩枪，威胁要遣返她们母女回中国。尽管她心存疑虑，但鉴于自己和女儿的工卡申请尚未批复，缺乏底气，只能选择忍气吞声，在收取欠条后离开“豪美”，前往西雅图寻找新工作。如今，两人均已获得工卡，无需再为身份问题而忍耐。因此，她们决定站出来维护自己的合法权益。

    Ms. Chen revealed that from July 2014 to March 2015, she and her daughter worked as nannies at "Haomei," working 24 hours a day but only receiving 100 yuan in wages, an average hourly wage of less than 4.2 yuan, far below the minimum wage standard of 10.50 yuan. Despite this, the boss, Cai Yilun, still withheld their wages, citing insufficient pregnant clients and poor business. By the time they left, the accumulated unpaid wages totaled 14,000 yuan. What angered Ms. Chen even more was that Cai Yilun had twice hired fake immigration officers to intimidate them.

    ▍ Case Progress
    Ms. Chen stated that the fake immigration officer was armed and threatened to deport her and her daughter back to China. Although she had doubts, given that her and her daughter's work permit applications had not yet been approved, they lacked the confidence to resist and could only endure the situation. After receiving a promissory note for the unpaid wages, they left "Haomei" and went to Seattle to find new jobs. Now that both have obtained work permits, they no longer need to tolerate such treatment due to their immigration status. Therefore, they decided to stand up and defend their legal rights.

    刘龙珠计划提起刑事诉讼，指控对方雇佣假移民官员恐吓。咽不下这口气的母女二人，在去年找到了刘龙珠律师。刘律师在听完母女俩的遭遇后，决定接下这个案子，并联系了移民局核实“假李逵”事件。移民局官员指出，他们通常不会单独行动，那位华裔“移民官”要么是假冒的，要么是滥用公职。于是，刘律师在去年3月19日向河滨县高等法院正式提起诉讼，指控“豪美”不仅拖欠员工工资，还雇佣假冒的“移民官”进行恐吓。除了每日应得的100元，刘龙珠还要求被告支付母女俩超出8小时的加班费、违约罚款以及律师费等，总计索赔286576元。

    由于自知理亏，蔡依伦在判决前选择了躲避。去年12月18日，法官作出了缺席判决，判定原告胜诉。刘律师并未就此罢休，近日正准备启动第二轮刑事诉讼，指控蔡依伦雇佣假冒移民官恐吓原告，触犯加州刑法，最高可判刑3年。目前，他正在草拟诉状，准备向检察官提交起诉蔡依伦。

    Liu Longzhu plans to file a criminal lawsuit, accusing the other party of employing fake immigration officers to intimidate. Unable to tolerate this injustice, the mother and daughter sought out lawyer Liu Longzhu last year. After hearing their story, lawyer Liu decided to take on the case and contacted the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to verify the "fake immigration officer" incident. ICE officials indicated that they typically do not act alone, and that the Chinese "immigration officer" was either an imposter or abusing his official position. Therefore, on March 19th of last year, lawyer Liu formally filed a lawsuit in the Riverside County Superior Court, accusing "Haomei" of not only withholding employee wages but also employing fake "immigration officers" for intimidation. In addition to the daily wage of 100 yuan, Liu Longzhu demanded that the defendant pay the mother and daughter overtime pay for hours exceeding eight hours, breach of contract penalties, and legal fees, totaling 286,576 yuan.

    Knowing she was in the wrong, Cai Yilun chose to evade the court before the judgment. On December 18th of last year, the judge issued a default judgment, ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. Lawyer Liu did not stop there and is currently preparing to launch a second round of criminal proceedings, accusing Cai Yilun of employing fake immigration officers to intimidate the plaintiffs, a violation of California criminal law, which carries a maximum sentence of 3 years. He is currently drafting the indictment and preparing to submit it to the prosecutor to prosecute Cai Yilun.

    02月嫂行业现状

    月嫂行业在美国也备受瞩目。由于西方人不坐月子，因此需要月嫂的主要是华人家庭。近年来，月嫂的需求持续上涨，平均工资也在不断提高。然而，月嫂行业在美国因需求增加而受到关注，但存在合法身份及安全保障等问题，对许多华人妇女来说，是实现美国梦的途径之一。

    ▍ 行业现状

    至于月嫂在美国备受推崇的原因，业内人士指出主要有三点：首先，由于国外普遍没有坐月子的传统，当地的保姆往往缺乏对产妇的照顾经验；其次，月嫂的工资相对较为亲民，大约在6500美元左右，与本地保姆的月薪相当；最后，从情感层面分析，产妇更倾向于选择华人保姆，因为双方在风俗习惯上更为接近。

    02 The Current State of the Postpartum Caregiver Industry

    The postpartum caregiver industry is also attracting significant attention in the United States. Because Westerners generally do not observe the traditional postpartum confinement period, the demand for postpartum caregivers primarily comes from Chinese families. In recent years, the demand for postpartum caregivers has continued to rise, and average salaries have also been increasing. However, while the postpartum caregiver industry in the U.S. is gaining attention due to increased demand, it faces issues such as legal status and safety concerns. For many Chinese women, it represents one of the pathways to achieving the American dream.

    ▍ Industry Status
    Industry insiders point to three main reasons why postpartum caregivers are highly valued in the United States: Firstly, because there is generally no tradition of postpartum confinement in Western countries, local nannies often lack experience in caring for new mothers; secondly, the salary of postpartum caregivers is relatively affordable, approximately $6500 per month, which is comparable to the monthly salary of local nannies; finally, from an emotional perspective, new mothers tend to prefer Chinese caregivers because they share similar customs and traditions.