Q. An employee called in sick but did not provide any information, other than that he was sick and would not be at work. He didn’t mention the FMLA by name. Was his phone call sufficient notice that he might need FMLA leave?

Q. As I was reading the newspaper recently, I saw one of my employees featured in the arrest column. She had been arrested the night before for driving under the influence. Committed to maintaining a law-abiding workforce, I would like to terminate this employee. Can I?

As with many other federal employment laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act includes a retaliation provision that protects workers who complain that their employer has violated the law. Until recently, it wasn’t clear what kinds of complaints actually triggered the FLSA’s protections. That’s now changed.

Q. We’re finding that there’s been an upsurge of items missing from our warehouse inventory. Can we require our warehouse employees to submit to polygraph tests?

Q. Under our company policy, employees who are terminated because of a reduction in force are entitled to severance pay. Can we require them to execute a release in order to receive severance pay?

Q. One of our employees has asked to review his personnel file. Must we grant his request?

Q. Carlos, a longtime Latino employee, frequently complains that he is paid less than his white, non-Latino counterparts. He blames this pay discrepancy on a previous supervisor who allegedly denied him several promotions in the late 1990s because of his national origin. I have heard about the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Could it affect us in this case?

Q.  We have an employee who has worked for us for just six months. However, three years ago, she worked for us for about a year before quitting and going back to school. Now she has requested time off under the FMLA. Is she eligible?

An employee approved for intermittent FMLA leave says she only needs to take an hour this week. Can she take leave in such a short increment? Could she take even less?