Discuss any contemporary issues in human resources management. It must be adequately referenced according to American Psychological Association...

There are many different issues you could choose to discuss for such an assignment. One issue that is increasing important as the world shifts to a gig/platform economy is the use of independent contractors. 

The first issue human resources has to address is what legally constitutes a contractor versus an employee. Recent lawsuits involving Uber and Lyft have been particularly important in clarifying these laws. Human resources departments are responsible for ensuring that when a...

There are many different issues you could choose to discuss for such an assignment. One issue that is increasing important as the world shifts to a gig/platform economy is the use of independent contractors. 

The first issue human resources has to address is what legally constitutes a contractor versus an employee. Recent lawsuits involving Uber and Lyft have been particularly important in clarifying these laws. Human resources departments are responsible for ensuring that when a firm hires contractors it closely follows the legal guidelines which demarcate employees from contractors in order to avoid taxes and other liabilities such as workers compensation, benefits, and overtime pay.

Many factors are used to determine the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. The first criterion is exclusivity. Someone who works for multiple clients is clearly a contractor, but someone who works exclusively for one firm for an extended period is more likely to function as an employee. The next issue is whether their work is critical to the mission of the company. A janitor is not critical to the business mission of a technology firm, but a programmer is central to the company's mission. Other factors include independence, use of judgment rather than close supervision, and mode of compensation. As more companies move toward employee-light models and increasingly outsource or contract a wide range of functions, developing human resource policies to ensure contractors are used productively and appropriately becomes increasingly important.

A good resource for APA style is:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/