DOCSLIB.ORG

Communicating Heterosexism in Queer Pregnancies: a Multiadic Interview Study

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Communicating Heterosexism in Queer Pregnancies: a Multiadic Interview Study Communicating Heterosexism in Queer Pregnancies: A Multiadic Interview Study A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Nicole C. Hudak August 2019 © 2019 Nicole C. Hudak. All Rights Reserved This dissertation titled Communicating Heterosexism in Queer Pregnancies: A Multiadic Interview Study by NICOLE C. HUDAK has been approved for the School of Communication Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Benjamin R. Bates Professor of Communication Studies Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract HUDAK, NICOLE C., Ph.D., August 2019, School of Communication Studies Communicating Heterosexism in Queer Pregnancies: A Multiadic Interview Study Director of Dissertation: Benjamin R. Bates Heterosexism is a power system in society that promotes the belief that every person is and should be heterosexual (Pharr, 1997). In knowing that heterosexism permeates everyday discourse, this dissertation examines how queer experiences are understood through the lens of heterosexism. Specifically, this dissertation focuses on the queer pregnancy experience, as lesbian motherhood is heavily scrutinized (Hequembourg, 2007). As part of the pregnancy experience, queer women enter healthcare spaces. Both healthcare and medical education promote heterosexism in their education (Zuzelo, 2014; Murphy, 2016) and in practice (Hudak, 2016; Saulnier, 2002). To explore how heterosexism is communicated and resisted in queer pregnancy, I conducted a multiadic interview (Manning, 2015) study with sixteen queer couples who had recently experienced a pregnancy. Through critically analyzing the interviews, two main findings emerged surrounding heterosexism being communicated in healthcare and heterosexism being communicated in public and private relationships. I used Michel Foucault and Sara Ahmed as theoretical guides to explore how surveillance, discipline, and constructions of happiness operated to promote heterosexism in the queer couple’s experiences. iii Acknowledgments Throughout the dissertation process, I was humbly reminded that success has never been accomplished alone. There were people in my life who have supported me both in the dissertation and my academic journey. My wife, Dr. Valerie Rubinsky, I do not think I could have made this achievement without your constant support. In both my triumphs and falling moments, you have been by my side, encouraging me along the way. I could not have asked for a more caring, compassionate, and just brilliant partner to share in this journey with. Dr. Bates, I am not sure many doctoral students have had advisors who were as flexible in the dissertation process. I have appreciated your willingness to advise this project from both near and far. Further, thank you for allowing me space to grow in my scholarship and for challenging me during these past four years. Dr. Harter, you have taught me how to integrate my voice into my scholarship. In both classes and my writing, you have encouraged and provided feedback that has allowed me to expand my horizons as a scholar. Thank you for introducing me to new literature and scholars who have shaped this dissertation and my past and future scholarship. Dr. Chawla, thank you for staying with me on my academic journey at Ohio University. I believe you have strengthened my writing throughout my fours years and has given me the courage to write this dissertation. Also, I appreciate how you have introduced me to more critical scholars and varying critical theoretical perspectives. Dr. Balbo, I am so glad that you were eager to be on this dissertation committee. You have taught me important lessons in inclusion for varying populations. Thank you iv for also answering my random medical questions that came up during the dissertation process. Finally, thank you for being an open medical provider who is actively working for positive changes for the LGBTQ community. To my parents, Scott and JoAnn, thank you for supporting me throughout my entire educational career. I know that when I told you I wanted to get my doctorate you were nervous but supported me regardless. I cannot thank you enough for the constant love and support and for being there with me when I finally became Dr. Hudak. Dr. Rudnick, I would not be here today without you. Around eight years ago you asked me if I wanted to read journal articles so that I could discuss them with you. You not only showed me that I was smart, but that I was capable of this grand adventure. Thank you for always being there whenever I needed to bounce ideas or look over sections of my writing. I look forward to our future as colleagues and friends. Finally, to my participants. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to speak with me and share your stories. It was an honor to get to know members of my community and to learn from every one of you. Your stories were full of life and could not be fully captured in this one document. I hope that I did not misrepresent your experiences, and if I did, I take full responsibility. It was clear how much you cared for your families and the futures that you have created. I wish you all the best. v Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Chapter 1: An Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Reviewing the Literature ................................................................................... 6 Understanding Heterosexism ...................................................................................... 11 Patient-Provider Communication................................................................................ 25 Partner Support in Pregnancy ..................................................................................... 28 Lesbian Pregnancy ...................................................................................................... 33 Theoretical Framing .................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 3: Research Practices ........................................................................................... 63 Recruitment and Interviews ........................................................................................ 64 Participants .................................................................................................................. 70 Queer Embodiment ..................................................................................................... 79 Analysis....................................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 4: “Visible in a Birth Space,” Heterosexism in Birth Related Healthcare .......... 86 Tension of Politics, Dismissal, and Visibility ............................................................. 87 Patient-provider Communication ................................................................................ 98 Beyond Providers ...................................................................................................... 153 Improving Care ......................................................................................................... 165 Concluding Healthcare.............................................................................................. 173 Chapter 5: “Biologically not Yours,” Communicating Heterosexism in the Public and Personal . ......................................................................................................................... 175 Public Expressions of Heterosexism ......................................................................... 176 Communication in the Workplace. ........................................................................... 187 Family Communication and Support. ....................................................................... 197 Queer Community. .................................................................................................... 231 Partner Communication and Support ........................................................................ 238 The Self and Heteronormativity ............................................................................... 266 Chapter 6: Conclusion .................................................................................................... 276 Answering the Research Questions .......................................................................... 277 Implications............................................................................................................... 285 vi Limitations ................................................................................................................ 295 Future Directions ...................................................................................................... 298 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................. 300 References ....................................................................................................................... 302 Appendix A: Participant Demographic Form ................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Report of Activities 2020 TABLE of CONTENTS
    Report of Activities 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . 1 CLEAN WATER . 3 ENHANCED BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Ahead of the Storm Implementation Projects on Champlain Valley School District Campuses . 5 Chazy River Watershed Management Plan . 6 Coordinating Homesite Stormwater Assessments Basin-Wide to Advance Voluntary Implementation . 7 Foster Brook Culvert Replacement . 8 Georgia Shore Stormwater and Shoreline Erosion Assessment . 9 I-87 Asphalt Swale Replacement & Ditch Improvements . 10 Johnsons Mill Dam Removal in Bakersfield, VT . 11 Kennedy Drive Pond 5/6 Retrofit . 12 Lake Forest Condominiums Stormwater System Upgrade and Stream Daylight . 13 Lamoille Union High School Green Stormwater Infrastructure Retrofit . 14 Otis Brook Stream Crossing Replacement, Jay Mountain Rd, Ausable River Watershed . 15 Planning/Prioritization for Ahead of the Storm Projects at Shelburne Museum . 16 Reducing Combined Sewer Overflows to Lake Champlain through Public Private Partnerships and Innovative Technology. 17 Salt Runoff Reduction Project . 18 Stormwater Improvements at the Milton DPW Highway Garage in the Lamoille River Watershed, Milton, VT . 19 Stormwater Mitigation Final Designs: Berlin, Vermont . 20 Stormwater Reduction in the Town of Brandon . 21 The Prioritization and Design of Transportation Stormwater Mitigation Projects in Northwestern Vermont . 22 Transforming Hyde Park Village Center into a Net Zero Runoff Showcase Using Green Stormwater Infrastructure . 23 UVM Horticultural Farm Stormwater Improvements . 24 INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURE Tile Drain Base Flow Phosphorus Removal Using St. George Black . 25 Tile Drainage System Monitoring and Assessment in the Northern and Southern Lake Champlain Basin, and Comparing Two Active Media Filters to Remove Phosphorus from Tile Drainage Water in the St. Albans Bay Watershed, VT . 26 POLLUTION PREVENTION AND HABITAT CONSERVATION Advancing a Riparian Restoration Protocol for the Ausable Watershed .
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 1: Researching Couples' Long-Term Relationships
    Appendix 1: Researching Couples’ Long-Term Relationships Researching couples’ long-term relationships This book is based on findings from our studyEnduring Love? Couple Relationships in the 21st Century, which explored how couples experience, understand and sustain their long-term relationships. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC RES-062-23-3056) and carried out between 2011 and 2013. At the core of the study’s development was a commitment to ensur- ing not only its intellectual rigour but also its policy and practice relevance. We established, therefore, an advisory framework for the study which brought together leading academics and independent researchers in the field as well as policymakers and representatives from third sector organisations with key roles in providing relationship support and education. Their interest, contributions and interventions have been invaluable and illustrate how our dialogic approach was central to the success of the study’s impact and public engagement. In designing and implementing the study, we sought to situate emotions at the conceptual, methodological and analytical heart of our research inquiry as relationships are comprised of a whole spectrum of feelings and experi- ences. Our aim in this was to access the ways that everyday experience and emotions interact but also to ensure that we DOI: 10.1057/9781137434432.0011 Appendix 1: Researching Couples’ Long-Term Relationships were able to portray vibrant and visceral accounts of long-term relation- ships. We thus sought to resist the deployment of relationship typologies that feature in some academic studies and relationship support services, focusing instead on research practices that would facilitate exploration of how sets of contexts, predispositions and lifestyles might combine in myriad ways to form and reform couple relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People
    Case 9:18-cv-80771-RLR Document 126-30 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/24/2018 Page 1 of 33 Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People American Psychological Association Transgender and gender nonconforming1 (TGNC) people logical practice guidelines be developed to help psycholo- are those who have a gender identity that is not fully gists maximize the effectiveness of services offered and aligned with their sex assigned at birth. The existence of avoid harm when working with TGNC people and their TGNC people has been documented in a range of historical families. cultures (Coleman, Colgan, & Gooren, 1992; Feinberg, Purpose 1996; Miller & Nichols, 2012; Schmidt, 2003). Current population estimates of TGNC people have ranged from The purpose of the Guidelines for Psychological Practice 0.17 to 1,333 per 100,000 (Meier & Labuski, 2013). The with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (hereafter Guidelines) is to assist psychologists in the pro- found 0.5% of the adult population aged 18 to 64 years vision of culturally competent, developmentally appropri- identified as TGNC between 2009 and 2011 (Conron, ate, and trans-affirmative psychological practice with Scott, Stowell, & Landers, 2012). However, population TGNC people. Trans-affirmative practice is the provision estimates likely underreport the true number of TGNC people, given difficulties in collecting comprehensive de- mographic information about this group (Meier & Labuski, The American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) Task Force on Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Non- 2013). Within the last two decades, there has been a sig- conforming People developed these guidelines.
    [Show full text]
  • Starting the Adoption Journey: My Two Cents
    Starting the adoption journey: my two cents Every June Catholic Charities holds a picnic at Kinder Farm Park for its adoptive families. This year it was part-play date, part-reunion, as the boys slid, climbed, and explored one of the best playgrounds we’ve visited. In between catching Daniel at the bottom of the slides and pushing Leo on the “rocket ship swing,” John and I had a chance to reconnect with some of the couples we waited with a few years ago, see our social worker friends, and encounter some new families. One couple we met Sunday is waiting to travel to meet their first child, a 3-year-old boy, in China, so they had lots of hopeful excitement—and questions. We talked about attachment, airplane entertainment, and the parenting challenges and joys that we have experienced—recognizing that theirs may be completely different. As one of the Catholic Charities social workers is fond of saying, “Your mileage may vary.” Toward the end of the afternoon, after Leo got to pet a baby calf named Alice and Daniel saw his first rabbits up close, we were cleaning off our picnic table. It had been a practically perfect day—sunny, but with a gentle breeze—and I had just dramatically spilled cranberry juice on what had been my white Capri pants. The boys—who skipped their naps that day—were starting to fade, and we were getting ready to go. As I was gathering trash from the table, a woman approached me and introduced herself. She didn’t want to keep me long.
    [Show full text]
  • IN the SUPREME COURT STATE of NORTH DAKOTA Maureen Ann
    20090316 FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE IN THE SUPREME COURT CLERK OF SUPREME COURT MARCH 8, 2010 STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA Maureen Ann Woodward, : Plaintiff and Appellant : -v- : Supreme Court No.20090316 George Woodward, : District Court Nos. 05-C-03471 Defendant and Appellee : APPELLANT’S BRIEF APPEAL OF THIRD AMENDED JUDGMENT CHANGING CUSTODY OF EB DISTRICT COURT OF CASS COUNTY, THE HONORABLE FRANK L. RACEK, PRESIDING. William Steven Kirschner Attorney for Maureen Woodward Kirschner Law Office Suite 104, 1351 Page Drive Fargo, North Dakota 58103-3635 (701) 293-5297 ND Bar ID # 03713 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES [p.3] ISSUES PRESENTED [p.4] STATEMENT OF THE CASE [1] FACTS [17] ARGUMENT 1 The District Court erred in failing to recuse itself from this case. [32] 2 The District Court’s decision to change the custody of E was clearly erroneous[84] 3 The District Court’s decision regarding visitation between EW and her mother and siblings did not reflect consideration of the necessary factors [112] CONCLUSION [115] 2 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES North Dakota Cases Dronen v. Dronen, 2009 ND 70, 764 N.W. 2d 675 [29] Linrud v. Linrud, 552 N.W. 2d 342 (N.D. 1996) [75] Sargent County Bank v. Wentworth, 500 N.W. 2d, 862, (N.D. 1993) [73] Woodward v. Woodward, 2009 ND 214,776 N.W.2d 567 [4] 3 ISSUES PRESENTED 1. Whether the District Court committed reversible error when it refused to recuse itself in this case? 2. Whether the District Court’s decision to change the custody of EW was supported by a substantial change in circumstances and whether it was in the best interests of EW? 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Pittsburgh Colfax K-8 Handbook
    MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL I would like to welcome you to Pittsburgh Colfax K-8. We are committed to providing an opportunity for all children to learn within a safe, caring atmosphere designed to nurture the spirit and stimulate the intellect. With our total commitment to children, we feel we are succeeding in our mission to provide an enriching educational experience preparing our students to achieve academic excellence and strength of character; thereby creating a foundation in which all students succeed in all aspects of life. I look forward to working with you to help ensure the success of your child/children during the school year. Warm Regards, PITTSBURGH Dr. Tamara Sanders-Woods, Colfax K-8 Principal MESSAGE FROM THE PTO COLFAX K-8 As members of the Colfax community—families, teachers, and staff—we will work together to make this school year our best one yet. colfaxpto.org HANDBOOK REVISION HISTORY Date Version Description Author(s) August 1.0 Initial release Abbie Campsie, Chuck Cranor, 2014 Shannon Ewing, Jenny Ganger, Anne Kurzweg, Jessica Neiss, Jessie Ramey, Marcie Ritter, Sara Segel, Adam Sikorski, Jamie Kinzel-Nath, Cara McKenna, Sarah Sirlin, Sukanya Srinivasan August 2.0 Updated for 2019-2020 School Year. Mitch Franzos, Sarah Grubb, Ross 2019 Ingram, Jeanine Weiss August 3.0 Updated for 2020-2021 School Year. Primarily focused on Ross Ingram 2020 updating tables of “special activities” and “communication and contact information”; also “additional references” 3.1 Updated Activities and Officers; Minor edits to PSCC Ross Ingram, Karey Kluesner description. 2 Table of Contents 2020-21 - EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Raising Children with Roots, Rights & Responsibilities
    Raising Children With Roots, Rights & Responsibilities: Celebrating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Written by Lori DuPont, Joanne Foley, and Annette Gagliardi Founders of the Circle for the Child Project Edited and designed by Julie Penshorn, Co-Director, Growing Communities for Peace Published by University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center and the Stanley Foundation Copyright © 1999 Human Rights Resource Center, University of Minnesota The Human Rights Education Series is published by the Human Rights Resource Center at the University of Minnesota and the Stanley Foundation. The series provides resources for the ever-growing body of educators and activists working to build a culture of human rights in the United States and throughout the world. Raising Children with Roots, Rights, & Responsibilities: Celebrating the Convention on the Rights of the Child may be reproduced without permission for educational use only. No reproductions may be sold for profit. Excerpted or adapted material from this publication must include full citation of the source. To reproduce for any other purposes, a written request must be submitted to the Human Rights Resource Center. The Human Rights Education Series is edited by Nancy Flowers. Edited and designed by Julie Penshorn, Co-Director of Growing Communities for Peace. Illustrations by eleven-year-old Margaret Anne Gagliardi. Cover design donated by Nancy Hope. ISBN 0-9675334-1-3 To order further copies of Raising Children With Roots, Rights, & Responsibilities: Celebrating the Conven- tion on the Rights of the Child, contact: Human Rights Resource Center University of Minnesota 229 - 19th Avenue South, Room 439 Minneapolis, MN 55455 Tel: 1-888-HREDUC8 Fax: 612-625-2011 email: [email protected] http://www.hrusa.org and http://www.umn.edu/humanrts A contribution to the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, 1995-2004 Dedication This book is lovingly dedicated to our children: Jesse, Jacob, Rachel, Erica, Marian, Maggie, and Maria and to the children of the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Family Law Guardian Ad Litem Investigations
    WASHINGTON STATE Title 26 Family Law Guardian Ad Litem Guidebook Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts 1112 Quince Street SE PO Box 41170 Olympia, WA 98504-1170 Page i COPYRIGHT© 2008 © 2008 by the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts. These materials have been prepared for the training of Washington State Family Law Guardians ad Litem, and neither the editors or authors make either express or implied warranties in regard to these materials. Each user must depend upon his or her own knowledge and legal expertise or that of an attorney in the use or modification of these materials. The reader may download or print these materials for personal use. However, no person or entity shall copy or distribute this Guidebook, or any portion of it, for profit except by permission the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts. Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts 1112 Quince Street SE PO Box 41170 Olympia, WA 98504-1170 Page ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In 1996, the Washington State Legislature required the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to develop a curriculum for prospective guardians ad litem in family law cases under Title 26 RCW. The requirement was mandatory as of January 1, 1998. In 2005, stakeholders in the GAL programs called for a revision in the curriculum. AOC convened a Title 26 Revision Committee to review and revise the original curriculum. The need for a statewide guidebook was identified during that process. The 2006 – 2007 Title 26 Curriculum Revision Committee, chaired by Pierce County Superior Court Judge Kitty-Ann van Doorninck, consisted of Jorge Chacon, Guardian ad Litem in Wenatchee; Marilyn Finsen, Assistant Administrator, Snohomish County Superior Court; Margaret E.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Advantages of Interviewing Couples Together
    Article Q ‘Am I rambling?’ on the R advantages of interviewing Qualitative Research 2014, Vol 14(1) 3 –19 couples together © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1468794112459671 qrj.sagepub.com Margunn Bjørnholt Nordic Women’s University, Norway Gunhild R Farstad Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Norway Abstract This article addresses a methodological controversy regarding the question of whether couples should ideally be interviewed together or apart. It draws on three different studies in which joint couple interviews were used either as the sole source of data or in combination with individual interviews. The authors focus on the specifics and strengths of joint couple interviews, and they argue that interviewing couples together has several advantages, such as solving the ethical problems of anonymity and consent among interviewees, and results in the production of rich data, including observational data. Furthermore, the authors point to the practical advantages of conducting joint interviews with couples. In taking a relational view of the self and of what is produced in research interviews, the authors propose to apply the concept of family display, originally proposed by Janet Finch. It is argued that the researcher may be seen as one of many possible audiences for this type of family practice. Keywords family display, family practice, family research, joint couple interview, qualitative method, relational self, research interview Introduction As family researchers, we have employed the method of joint couple interviews in our research projects. When discussing our projects with other researchers, we have both encountered negative attitudes and prejudice towards this form of interview.
    [Show full text]
  • LGBT Rights and Representation in Latin America and the Caribbean: the Influence of Structure, Movements, Institutions, and Culture
    LGBT Rights and Representation in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Influence of Structure, Movements, Institutions, and Culture Javier Corrales OUT TO WIN Javier Corrales Javier Corrales is the Dwight W. Morrow 1895 Corrales obtained his Ph.D. in political science Professor of Political Science at Amherst College from Harvard University. In 2005, he was chosen in Amherst, Massachusetts. to be a Fulbright Scholar in Caracas, Venezuela. Corrales’s research focuses on democratization In 2000, he became one of the youngest scholars and the political economy of development. His ever to be selected as a fellow at the Woodrow work on Latin America has concentrated on Wilson International Center for Scholars in presidential powers, political parties, economic Washington, D.C. reforms, international relations, and sexuality. Prepared in 2015 for the LGBT Representation Corrales serves on the editorial boards of Latin and Rights Initiative at the University of American Politics and Society and America’s North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Quarterly. He is co-author of The Promise of The author would like to thank Mary Byrne, Participation: Experiments in Participatory Dane Engelhart, Clara Yoon, and Abigail Xu for Governance in Honduras and Guatemala (Palgrave their research assistance. Macmillan 2013), U.S.-Venezuela Relations since The UNC LGBT Representation and Rights the 1990s: Coping with Midlevel Security Threats Research Initiative thanks Leah Elliott, Mary (Routledge 2013), and Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Koenig, Sarah Pederson, Alison Evarts, and Chávez and the Political Economy of Revolution Alissandra Stoyan for their exceptional efforts in Venezuela (Brookings Institution Press 2011). in the preparation of this report.
    [Show full text]
  • Stress and Coping in First Pregnancy: Couple-Family Physician Interaction
    Stress and Coping in First Pregnancy: Couple-Family Physician Interaction Penny Williamson, ScD, and Eugenia C. English, MD Seattle, W ashington First pregnancy and childbirth produce life changes and re­ quire adaptation. This pilot study examined the role of the family physician in caring for nine couples during first preg­ nancy through the postpartum period. Interviews of individu­ als and couples were conducted to evaluate their support, stresses, and coping styles. Concurrently, physicians were in­ terviewed for their knowledge of these dimensions. Interac­ tions between physicians and couples were observed in third trimester and at labor and delivery. Each of the participants perceived predelivery stresses relat­ ing to the pregnancy and to concomitant life changes. Emo­ tional and technical support was high; only two of the nine husbands felt a marked lack of emotional support from any source. All women felt a high level of support. While preg­ nancy related concerns and support were perceived by all physicians, general stresses and sources of emotional support were infrequently known. Significantly more was known about the women than their husbands. Attention to psychosocial is­ sues appeared to depend on physician style of interaction with the couple. When recognized, stresses were reduced by pro­ vision of information, discussion, and reassurance. First pregnancy is a time of major change, rep­ effects of a stable, supportive husband.8 In con­ resenting a transition from being a couple to being trast, Liebenberg reviewed the
    [Show full text]
  • The Nanny Work Agreement
    Ten Tips: Writing the Nanny Work Agreement 1. Remember WHY you are doing this Your nanny is your employee. She will have sole charge of your children in an unsupervised setting. Your family will depend on the nanny for her professional services, and the nanny contract or work agreement sets the professional tone of the relationship right from the beginning and truly will avert future problems and misunderstandings. 2. Cover all the basics What are the basics? Absolutely cover all hours and duties. Compensation for the base hours should be stated in hourly wage terms, with a specified weekly guarantee (this will become the rate for vacation time, sick time, etc.). Use the Hourly Pay Rate Calculator to translate a weekly salary into the appropriate hourly and overtime rates. Cover all benefits including paid holidays, employer contribution to medical insurance if offered, and sick/holiday/paid time off. 3. Details Count! You and your nanny will refer to this document whenever issues arise in the relationship. The time you take to spell out the details will generally avert misunderstanding due to different assumptions. Consider "child's bedding will be changed and laundered weekly" instead of "laundering of child's bedding." What about additional hours - either planned or unexpected? Nanny tardiness? You agreement should address this with both overtime compensation and payroll consequences for tardiness. Detail expense reimbursement, including any family parameters for discretionary spending by the nanny. 4. State payroll frequency and tax treatment How frequently will the nanny be paid? What day of the week is payday? What taxes are you deducting? Are you deducting the nanny's income taxes or is she responsible for paying those directly? All of these items should be spelled out up front.
    [Show full text]