Two Fort Lauderdale lawyers hope to help raise wages for au pairs across the country through a class-action suit.

Boies, Schiller & Flexner attorneys Sigrid S. McCawley and Lauren Fleischer Louis are part of a legal team alleging the 15 government-selected au pair sponsor organizations have colluded to keep wages at $4.35 an hour for thousands of au pairs.

The live-in nannies “are working a large number of hours,” McCawley said. “They're not getting paid a federally mandated wage. And because they're foreigners, they don't know where to turn. They don't have a voice, and they're not aware of their rights.”