Remind staff: Contractors aren't employees.

Instead of hiring their own workers, employers sometimes outsource their staffing needs. Oversee contract labor with a light hand, and don't have contractors do work that's not specified in your agreement.

The more control you exert, the more likely your organization will be on the hook as the employer in any lawsuit.

Recent case: Lisa worked for Celebrity Cleaning and was assigned to work at Lehigh Carbon Community College, which provided her with a janitorial room, the keys to the building and the alarm codes. In addition, one of the LCCC deans and a district manager sometimes asked Lisa to do other tasks. Occasionally they did this outside normal working hours, calling her on her personal cell phone.

Lisa later alleged that a campus security guard sexually harassed her. She reported this to both Celebrity Cleaning and LCCC.

A few days later, Celebrity told her LCCC didn't want her to return because she allegedly used her telephone during working hours and didn't get along with people on campus.

Lisa sued both LCCC and Celebrity...