On May 24, 2011, a federal district court in Chicago ruled that security guards who were licensed, insured, trained, and paid by the hour by a private security company were not independent contractors, but employees entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Solis v. International Detective & Protective Service, Ltd.

Granting summary judgment for the Department of Labor, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall found that the security guards were owed a total of $101,577.60 in unpaid overtime, plus the same amount in liquidated damages.

While the case does not break much new legal ground, it does offer some useful reminders about what not to do if you want your workers to be treated as independent contractors. To borrow a form from a certain well-known comedian....