‘We cannot pay you more than $50 after you wore that’: Teen babysitter works over 6 hours. Then the parents refuse to pay her over ‘inappropriate’ Brandy Melville outfit
A teen says a family refused to pay her for her babysitting services after deeming her outfit “inappropriate.” Fifteen-year-old Mae shared her story in the “AmIOverreacting” subreddit on Tuesday.
Her initial post already has over 60,000 upvotes and substantial discourse, with 4,700 comments.
Mae prefaces her story by saying she has been babysitting for the family for over a year. The teen describes the family as conservative, religious, and “generally nice.” She also says she loves the two kids she babysits, Sarah and Eliza.
The last time she babysat for Sarah and Eliza, she says the girls asked her to “run around with them.” Mae was wearing a sweatshirt over her tank top at the time, she explains. And since a sweatshirt, especially in certain temperatures, is not ideal for running around, she decided to take the sweatshirt off.
Mae explains that her rate for two kids is $20 per hour and that she babysat Sarah and Eliza from 4pm to 10:30pm. That means Mae should have been paid $130 for the day.
The text messages
In her post, she includes a text message exchange between herself and the mother of Sarah and Eliza. Mae first politely messaged the woman about the missing payment, giving the parents the benefit of the doubt. “I know you guys celebrate Good Friday and Easter so it probably slipped off your radar,” a portion of her message reads.
The mother eventually confirms the missing payment is not due to a simple mistake; it was deliberate.
“Hello Mae, Dan and I have been talking about it, and quite frankly, we do not feel comfortable paying you the full amount after you wore such inappropriate clothing to our house. The kids love you and we are more than happy to give you a second chance, but we cannot pay you more than [$50] after you wore that outfit,” the text from the mother reads.
Mae includes a reference photo of her outfit in the post. She has on the Skylar Stripe Lace Tank from Brandy Melville along with sweatpants.
Mae responds, “Wow, I had no idea you guys felt that way, I am so sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just wanted to be in something flexible to run around in with Sarah and Eliza. That being said, 50 honestly does not feel like enough money for 2 kids and 7 hours. I understand you do not feel ok paying me full price, and I’d be willing to do half of what I normally charge.”
How much should teen babysitters make?
That’s about a third of what Mae was owed. According to ZipRecruiter, $17.62 per hour is the average rate for a teenage babysitter in the U.S. At $50, the parents were trying to pay Mae an hourly rate of $7.69.
According to a follow-up message by Mae, the parent didn’t respond to Mae’s text or to an email Mae’s mother sent to them. “While I feel awful that I offended you and Dan, we had never gone over ground rules about clothing, and I do not think it is fair for you to go back on your word,” Mae says.
Mae then asks the parents to pay her the agreed-upon rate.
The parent then takes aim at Mae’s mother by saying, “I have known you since you were a little girl and it is disheartening to see that you have grown up into another version of your mother.”
Then, she says that her husband, Dan, Venmoed Mae the $150.
“I will take that as a compliment, I think my mother is an awesome person,” Mae responds. (Mae later explained that the parents and her mother “do not get along very well due to opposing political beliefs and religions,” as her mom is Jewish.)
Mae gets the last word
Then, the mother says they don’t want Mae to babysit for them anymore.
But it seems like the parents might have a hard time finding a replacement babysitter, as they live in a small town and word of mouth goes far, even among teens.
“Honestly?? I do not feel comfortable coming back to your house anymore,” she says. “I highly doubt I will be recommending you to any of my friends who want to get into babysitting.”
Viewers applauded the teen for how she carried herself, but they also encouraged Mae to get her mother involved. They accused the parents of sexualizing a teenager.
“Uh-uh. It’s mom time. She should call them and … SHAME them,” one highly upvoted and awarded comment read. They urged Mae to get her mom to shame them for sexualizing her and encouraged Mae to tell her friends they would not be “safe” in the house.
Another speculated that the parents were trying to find an excuse to not follow through with payment. “I second that you should tell your parent or a trusted adult,” they wrote. “What you wore was not inappropriate in the least and - even if it was - they still need to pay you what they owe.”
They continued, “If they were uncomfortable with your clothing they could have had a conversation with you / sent you home before they went out. IMO it's just shady behaviour + an excuse not to pay up. I also agree with what others are saying about them sexualizing you. It's not cool. It's not okay.”
“YOU ARE AMAZING. i am so glad you stood up to her,” a third lauded on Mae’s update post. “I’m so tired of people your age getting used by grown … adults. Im so glad you ripped her a new one! And congrats on the full payment.”
What should I do if I'm not paid for my babysitting services?
Mae shared in the update post that taking her neighbor to a small claims court to receive the money she was owed just wasn’t worth it for her. “A lot of people suggested taking my neighbor to small claims court, but where I am at, the price of even [filing] a claim is half the money I would have made,” she explains.
So what can one do in this situation? According to experts who spoke with Care.com, Mae took the right initial step.
Here are the steps, in order, that one should take if they aren’t paid for their services:
- Politely ask about the payment. (Thankfully, in Mae’s case, that eventually worked. But in the event communication isn’t effective, follow the next steps.)
- Keep a record of any communication you have about the payment and the hours you worked. This may become important down the line if you need evidence to point to.
- Take legal action. This can be done by speaking with an employment lawyer, filing a wage claim, or taking the employer to small claims court.
Update
In case you’re wondering, no one in the subreddit thought Mae was overreacting. She reacted to the outpouring of support in the update post.
“I had no idea it would blow up like that, from the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful for every single person who took time out of their day to write out a reply, it truly was so helpful!!” she said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Mae via Reddit direct message.
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