A new toll free telephone hotline, outreach team, and information fact sheet will help employees who are part of the federal Live-In Caregiver Program address issues regarding their employment rights.

The Ministry of Labour hotline will provide these employees, often called nannies, with information on their rights under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).  The hotline will be supported by a specially trained team to assist them in filing claims and link them to dedicated investigative officers.

The ESA fact sheet for live-in caregivers provides information on wages, hours of work, overtime pay, and other rights under the ESA.  It also explains that employers cannot punish or threaten them for asking for their rights under the ESA.

The measures announced today are part of Ontario's strategy that will also include introduction of legislation later this year that will, if passed, ban placement fees and begin targeted enforcement of agencies that breach Ontario's labour laws.