You can terminate employees who are unable to return to their jobs after their FMLA leave has expired. Just make sure you’re consistent. If you apply the same termination rule to all employees—regardless of race, age, sex or membership in any other protected category—you won’t have to worry about lawsuits.

Some employees may want to save up their FMLA leave for an anticipated event like a birth or upcoming surgery. Even if they’re eligible for intermittent FMLA leave, they may request that they not be docked for the time off. If you agree not to charge the time off against FMLA leave, make sure you document the request. Then feel free to treat the absences as you would any other absence under your attendance policy.

Former employees of Brazoria County have filed an EEOC lawsuit claiming that a former judge sexually harassed them and that the county ignored the presence of sexual harassment in the workplace. The two women, previously employed in the county’s juvenile probation department, claim that Judge James Blackstock, who resigned last year over the scandal, has been harassing female county employees since 1993.

Here’s a big new worry for Texas employers: Employees who want to sue over long-ago discriminatory pay decisions can do so within 180 days of the last discriminatory paycheck, at least according to one state appeals court. The 1st Court of Appeals has ruled that the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act applies to discrimination cases under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act as well as Title VII claims.

You know how important it is to consistently apply disciplinary rules and ensure no form of bias creeps into the disciplinary process. That’s one reason it’s crucial for HR to keep disciplinary records on file. If employees allege that you disciplined them in a discriminatory way, you’ll be able to show no one was treated more favorably than anyone else.

Employers have the right to set grooming policies—within limits. One thing you can’t demand: Grooming practices that may be impossible for some employees to follow. Consider, for example, a rule that forbids facial hair. That could have a disparate impact on black men because of a genetic and permanent skin condition called pseudofolliculitis barbae. The condition makes it impossible to maintain a closely shaved face.

Let’s say you’ve got one very good reason to fire an employee, plus several other halfway decent reasons. Why not wrap them all into one big package of employee shortcomings when it comes time to show her the door? Because such overkill could play badly in court if the dismissed employee ever sues you.

What should you do if an employee becomes disabled and can’t perform the essential functions of his job under any circumstances? The employee may be entitled to a transfer to another position—if one is open and the employee is actually qualified for the position. But you don’t have to move employees around to create an opening.

Employers sometimes try to avoid taking sides when they learn of possible sexual harassment out of fear that one of the employees involved will sue. Then the situation escalates, and they end up in court anyway. The only realistic employer response: Be prepared to make tough decisions. Investigate the claim.

Employees who are transferred to other positions after complaining about discrimination could end up collecting big from their employers. That’s true even if the transfer doesn’t result in a base pay cut or lost benefits. Reason: The law lets juries punish employers for retaliation based on factors such as lost prestige, overtime pay and other, less tangible benefits.

The costs of employee absenteeism—reflected in lost production, overtime and temporary replacements for the absent worker—can add up quickly. What’s the best way to combat the problem? With a clear policy, careful documentation, consistent application of the policy and progressive discipline.

If you’re considering hiring inmates through a work-release program, carefully weigh whether you will have to pay them as regular employees under the FLSA, or whether you may be able to pay them less. According to a recent 5th Circuit decision, prisoners specifically sentenced to hard labor may not be covered by the FLSA. Their employers may pay them less than minimum wage, and they’re not eligible for overtime pay.