With the summer season fast approaching, human resources teams will need to prepare for an influx of applications from recent college grads and vacation time requests from staff members. As they simultaneously tackle employee recruiting efforts and scheduling, HR teams will also need to be on the lookout for three common compliance stumbling blocks that can put them in hot water with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Hiring employees as independent contractors
In the midst of the current unpaid internship craze, it might seem like a good idea to hire cheap help. While this might be beneficial to the bottom line, it may create complications with time and attendance rights. The line between employees and independent contractors (individuals who are paid on a piecemeal basis) can be difficult to draw. A sales person who works alone in the field and receives payment through commission might still be considered an employee legally if he or she performs duties over a long period of time and is required to follow the company's selling strategies.

Because the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to pay independent contractors minimum wage and overtime for their employee attendance, a business might end up drastically under-compensating a misclassified individual. If the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division discovers misclassifications, they can order companies to issue back pay to all those affected by the confusion.

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