WASHINGTON — Wage and hour laws and regulation are not a topic most dry cleaners and other small- and mid-sized business owners enjoy contemplating or keeping track of, but it’s essential for the health of their companies to stay on top of a subject that is often shifting with the winds.

This was the message of Bradford Kelley and Mike Paglialonga of Littler Mendelson P.C., a national law firm that specializes in labor and employment law. The pair recently spoke in the presentation “Wage and Hour Compliance for Small Business,” hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

In Part 1 of this series, we examined the differing minimum wage laws on the federal, state and local level. In Part 2, we continued by exploring the rules and questions around overtime. Today, we’ll conclude by looking at where independent contractors and interns fall into this discussion, and discuss ways employers can ensure they are staying compliant with wage and hour laws and regulation.

Who are the Independent Contractors?

“The topic of independent contractors is usually brought up in the context of what's called ‘misclassification,’” Kelley says, “and what that really comes down to is: is a worker an employee, or are they an independent contractor? And, historically, this has been subject to a lot of flip-flops on the federal level.”

The case law that has developed, and usually points to what the courts decide on this issue, is known as the “economic realities” test, Kelley...

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