Generally speaking, nannies, baby nurses and babysitters are considered employees. One of the things that a lot of people don´t think about is that there are different classes of employees. You can have a temporary employee, such as a baby nurse who only works for you for a short period of time but is still an employee. You can have a part time employee, which is someone who comes to your home on a regular basis but perhaps for only a very few number of hours each week. That person may be part time but they are still an employee. Or you can have a full time nanny who really is easier to see as a full time employee. A lot of times people look at these kinds of relationships and say I can classify this person as an independent contractor and that is okay. And that is in compliance with the law because this person does not work a full time schedule or they are only with our family for a set number of weeks. That is not the law. And if the employment relationship is not treated as such, families open themselves up to a lot of liability.