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89 Maryland Attorney General Reports and Opinions 3 (2004)

handle is hein.sag/sagmd0027 and id is 1 raw text is: LANDLORD AND TENANT EMPLOYMENT - DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY - WHETHER LIVE-IN DOMESTIC EMPLOYEE HAS TENANCY RIGHTS THAT MAY BE ENFORCED AGAINST FOREIGN DIPLOMAT January 5, 2004 Susan M. Erlichman, Esquire Executive Director Maryland Legal Services Corporation Your predecessor asked for our opinion whether a domestic employee who resides in the employer's residence may receive guests, including religious leaders, medical personnel, and lawyers, at that residence. The inquiry posed two questions: 1. Does a live-in domestic employee have tenancy rights, including the right to invite and receive guests, if the employee is required to live at the employer's residence as a condition of employment and the employee is compensated in part by the employer's provision of room and board? 2. Would the live-in employee's rights be affected if the residence is owned by a foreign diplomat or by a foreign government that employs a household employee to work for a diplomat? For the reasons explained in this opinion, we conclude: 1. Whether a live-in domestic employee has tenancy rights will depend on the particular arrangement between the employer and employee - i.e., whether that arrangement gives the employee exclusive control over the premises occupied by the employee. A domestic employee who does not have tenancy rights would not have the right of a tenant to admit guests to the employer's home without the employer's assent. However, this does not mean that the employer may control an employee's right to associate with others. An employer who isolates an employee from outside contacts by threat of force or legal action will likely violate federal laws against peonage, involuntary servitude, and forced labor. 2. Even when a live-in employee has tenancy rights, those rights may be difficult to enforce if the residence is occupied by a foreign diplomat or maintained by a foreign government for use by diplomats. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a treaty that has the 3

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