Yesterday I had lunch and a chat with John Turner, a human resources and safety consulting expert. From our conversation I learned that many, if not most, small business make serious mistakes in handling human resources issues. Some common mistakes are:

1. Incorrectly classifying as exempt employees who should be paid overtime.

2. Incorrectly using “independent contractors” who are actually employees.

3. Being inconsistent with treatment of employees and application of company policies.

4. Not having an employee manual.

Will Limkemann