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My name is Marisa Sandler and welcome to today’s HRMinute. When hiring a new employee, there are several issues that an employer must consider. One of the first issues is whether an individual will be hired as an employee or as an independent contractor. In recent years, there has been considerable litigation over the misclassification of workers. Accordingly, employers should be familiar with the various tests and factors courts use to distinguish employees from independent contractors, so that employees are properly classified at the time of hire. Another issue that employers should consider is whether to employ the employee on an at-will basis or for a specified period of time. Employment at-will is the default rule in the United States, and essentially means that an employer, or an employee, may terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason, so long as it is not an illegal reason. Employers who wish to employ employees on an at-will basis should be sure that all documents signed and acknowledged by the employee contain an express at-will disclaimer. Finally, employers will need to decide how the employee will be compensated. Employers should designate each employee as exempt or non-exempt from overtime compensation. Generally, non-exempt employees should be paid at least the minimum wage, plus overtime pay, at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate of pay, for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. For more information check out my blog post, which you can access on our Linkedin page. My name is Marisa Sandler, and I’m an associate here at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt