Considering the toll the obesity epidemic takes on Americans’ health, you’d think Dr. Jason Newsom’s bosses in Panama City would be happy with his campaign to educate the public about the dangers of obesity. Fat chance. While attacking sweet tea, burgers and fries was all right, it was doughnuts that doomed the doc.

Most HR professionals like to think their workplaces are free from slurs and other behavior that smacks of racial hostility. If only that were always true! Sadly, bigotry sometimes rears its ugly head. But the good news is that an isolated comment probably isn’t enough to make you liable. That is, unless the comment is made by a supervisor.

While courts seldom want to second-guess employment decisions, sometimes employers provoke that scrutiny. That can happen, for example, when companies rely on the “old boy network” to promote from within instead of using a more formal, organized process.

Most federal appeals courts have concluded that driving is not a major life activity under the ADA. Thus a disability that simply impairs the ability to drive isn’t covered under the law. But what if the inability to drive prevents someone from holding a wide range of jobs? Does that mean the individual is substantially impaired in the major life activity of working? According to one federal trial court considering a Florida case, the answer is yes.

You’ve just made another tough promotion decision, and 10 other urgent tasks require your attention. Before you move to the next item on your to-do list, take the time to document the promotion process. That way, if you are later sued, you can easily show the court the factors you considered.

An employer that doesn’t file an appeal within 20 days after it receives notification that a former employee has been awarded unemployment compensation benefits loses the right to appeal. Advice: If there’s the slightest chance you’ll contest unemployment benefits, respond to the notice immediately.

Many sexual harassment complaints turn out to be much ado about very little. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can close the case and forget about the whole thing. That can be especially dangerous if the person about whom the complaint was made is a supervisor who still has authority over the employee who complained. Here’s how to handle the aftermath of a closed harassment complaint:

Miami placed seventh-worst in a Brookings Institution study that ranks cities by how spread out their employment centers are. About 62% of Miami jobs are located more than 10 miles from the city center ...

The FLSA requires employers to pay the minimum wage and the correct amount of any overtime. Violate the law and you’ll have to pay double what you owe—unless you can show you acted in good faith and with the reasonable belief that you were following the law. That’s a tough sell unless you can show you followed legal advice.

WRS Compass is the latest company to face an EEOC lawsuit after failing to rein in workplace racial harassment. According to the complaint, one black worker found a noose on his steering wheel, and a white employee displayed a noose on his car. When workers complained, a white supervisor replied, “Maybe, he just likes nooses.”

Punishing an employee for complaining about discrimination is retaliation even if it turns out that whatever the employee was complaining about wasn’t discrimination. That’s why you should include information on avoiding any form of retaliation in all your training programs.

Employees who know they are in trouble often try to protect themselves by asking for FMLA leave. That tactic might work only if the employee can show he was eligible for it.

Employees who sue current or past employers have the burden of proving that discrimination took place. But that doesn’t mean employers should sit back and wait for employees to fail in court. In fact, you should always be ready to prove that you treated everyone equally.

For years, employers have grappled with what constitutes a hostile work environment and what does not. There’s a way to end pointless arguments about whether speech or conduct is racially offensive—and prevent potential problems down the line. Implement a policy that clearly bans race banter.

There’s good news if you use objective and measurable productivity and goal targets to determine whether employees will receive promotions and pay increases. You can distinguish between degrees of failure to meet those goals.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has concluded its investigation into the December 2007 collapse of the Berkman Plaza II parking garage and found Atlanta-based Choate Construction not to have been at fault.

The EEOC has filed charges against Crom Corp. and Crom Equipment Rentals, two Gainesville construction companies, for firing a black worker after he complained of racial harassment following an alleged series of disturbing events.

Employees whose job tasks have changed may now be wrongly classified as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, one that could quickly eat up any temporary savings you’re trying to achieve—especially if it turns into a class-action suit.

The Brookville, Fla., City Council has approved a new dress code for municipal employees, requiring them to observe “strict personal hygiene,” including the use of deodorant. An “observable lack of undergarments” is explicitly forbidden.

Many employers are trying to do more with less these days, and that often means moving staff into new roles. Not every employee embraces that kind of change. Some might even see a transfer as some kind of retaliation, especially if they have recently complained about discrimination. Fortunately, courts seldom consider reassignments as adverse employment actions.

The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t decided any big sexual harassment cases for several years. That doesn’t mean the problem has disappeared or that employers should slack off in their efforts to prevent and fix sexual harassment. Instead, review your training program to make sure sexual harassment gets the attention it deserves. Then be sure to investigate any harassment complaints you receive.

These are tough economic times, and employers can’t be blamed for cost-cutting measures such as reductions in force. But before you act to trim your labor burden, prepare solid evidence showing exactly why you must cut those costs. You need a clear, written record, since those who participated in the decision-making may not be around to testify if the layoffs are challenged in lawsuits.

It’s usually easy to accommodate employees’ everyday health problems, and employers should always be willing to consider making minor adjustments in work conditions. But be cautious about making accommodations that could affect workplace safety. Allowing an employee to bypass safety procedures or have a co-worker help her with them is almost always a bad idea.

Even if it’s all in their heads, some employees think their co-workers and supervisors are out to get them. If they’re unable to find an attorney willing to take the case, they’ll often file the lawsuit themselves, asking the court to find and pay for an attorney. Fortunately, fewer and fewer judges are granting those requests.

If you haven’t recently reminded supervisors to keep anti-female comments to themselves, here’s a recent case
you can cite. Such comments will be viewed as direct evidence of discrimination. That practically guarantees a lawsuit if the employee is ever fired.