We’ve all picked up the phone and been asked to give a reference about a former employee. For some, you’re glad they are out of your hair and it’s too late for them to sue you. So you’re honest about the person. But be careful. As a new case shows, it may never be too late for an ex-employee to take you to court …

Have you ever been suspicious about an employee’s request for FMLA leave? Employees have learned to play the FMLA game quite well in the 17 years since the law was passed. In this new case, an "attendance-challenged" employee was denied extra vacation leave for her wedding, so she then submitted an FMLA leave request for those same dates. Hmmmm … smell fishy?

Take a (mental) picture of your workforce. What do you see? How many women hold management jobs? Are females prevented by some invisible force from entering executive ranks? The EEOC is extremely aggressive these days and a new $19 million settlement last week shows how the agency is targeting gender bias. As EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru warned employers, “There are still too many glass ceilings left to shatter in workplaces throughout corporate America.”

Supervisors and managers MUST report harassment to higher-ups. But what are the reporting obligations of “team leaders” or “leads”? These are people who have more responsibilities than employees but less than full-fledged members of management. Leads live in that “gray zone” somewhere in between. So what are their obligations? One court recently clarified it: Train them like managers to report suspected harassment. Staying silent will create liability.

Personal voice mail messages are in the news this month. They can come back to haunt you, as Tiger Woods found out when he left evidence of his infidelity on voice mail. But what about leaving a voice mail message for a co-worker or subordinate? One court said, “Beware!” They can be smoking guns aimed directly at the employer’s wallet ...

What’s the difference between a friendly glance between co-workers and a sexual stare? A recent court ruling shows that sexual harassment is in the eye of the beholder — and managers better not roll their eyes if they witness it …

Job postings go up … they come down. They go up … they come down. It all seems quite normal. That is, unless you pull down a job posting to avoid a specific type of candidate. As this new case shows, you can’t delist a job or try to “hide” the position when you don’t like who applies. Peek-a-Boo, the court will catch you!

What if a management consultant suggests that you find “young, energetic” people to take over? A court ruling last week sends a clear warning: Be careful who you listen to for advice … and where you write it down.

It’s getting dark out sooner. And with the darker season comes struggles for employees who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression in which a decrease of natural light triggers a mood disorder. So does that mean you may have to offer SAD sufferers a workspace near sunlight? Quite possibly, as a recent court ruled that “Natural light may be a medical necessity”…

Have you checked your company’s bulletin boards lately? Do they show the correct, updated federal- and state-law posters? As this week’s new court ruling shows, poster mistakes can actually breathe new life into supposedly dead employment lawsuits …

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been in place for almost 20 years and was expanded this year to create even broader protections. If employees know their rights, and courts know them too, why don’t employers? Let’s see how a talk show ended up in the middle of a big courtroom drama …

You’re required to offer job accommodations to employees with qualifying disabilities. But if an employee has a medical condition that requires frequent bathroom breaks, does that count as a “disability”? The answer is a clear “yes," especially this year …

Sure, at one time or another, we’ve all worked for some great bosses and some bad bosses. But nothing can be more debilitating than working for someone who is ignorant of the laws. In the following case, a company president walked right into an FMLA lawsuit because he had never even heard of the Family and Medical Leave Act. He knows about it now ...

The economy is still funky. Unemployment continues to rise. And, with Boomers entering their retirement years, some of those older laid-off employees are crying foul. In fact, the EEOC last year reported a shocking 29% rise in age discrimination claims. The good news: A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision made it more difficult for employees to win such cases, as the following case shows …

You must grant “reasonable” work accommodations to disabled employees. But what if the person’s disability could actually create a safety threat in the workplace? Must you still keep him in that job?

Have you ever felt that punch-to-the-stomach feeling of clicking “Send” and realizing you sent an e-mail to the wrong person? That usually causes only mild embarrassment. But as the CEO in the case below learned, one misguided e-mail mixed with some poor judgment can stir up a potent legal stew …

If you have an employee who seems constantly exhausted, take note: He or she may suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). And under the newly revised Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that person could be deemed “disabled” and entitled to reasonable work accommodations ...

Do you have employees who are required to drive as part of their duties? What should you do if they start taking prescription painkillers? Do you have to still let them get behind the wheel in order to avoid an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim? Or can you fire them for not being able to perform the essential functions of the job?

You may think your managers know how to respond to harassment claims. But what if those complaints are about male-on-male or female-on-female harassment? That’s not what harassment looked like in the training video! Would your managers shrug it off--as in the following case--by saying, “Don’t be so sensitive. Go back to work!” If so, get ready to write a big check—and don’t be so “sensitive” about how many zeros your company might have to put at the end.

Do you have employees who are easily distracted, restless, disorganized and forgetful? Maybe that’s just who they are—or maybe they’ve been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It’s pretty common. About 8 million American adults suffer from it. It’s an “invisible” disability, but one court recently said employers shouldn’t be so fast to discount it. A disability is a disability … whether you can see it or not.

Do employees who return from job-protected leave become “untouchable,” even if they perform poorly? Can holding their feet to the performance fire look like retaliation? In this new case, an employer fired a worker just six weeks after her FMLA leave. Six weeks is like a nano-second on the retaliation stop watch. But the court still dismissed the case. Why?

It’s smart to set reasonably lofty goals for employees. But is there a danger in setting those goals too high? One court recently let a jury decide whether a company’s higher-than-the-moon goals were discriminatory. And, as we all know, once an employer is pushed off to a jury, it’s an instant loss… in time, money and brand damage ...

Diabetes is the cause of 15 million lost workdays a year in the United States and, starting in 2009, the ADA expressly makes diabetes a covered disability. A new court ruling shows the legal risk caused by supervisors who lack the understanding of (or compassion for) diabetic symptoms, which sometimes include frequent urination … 

So you’ve had enough. The employee messed up big time again and you can’t take it any more. Thank goodness all your ducks have been lined up by a supervisor who documented previous poor performance. There’s even a “last chance” agreement in the employee’s file. What a gift! Go ahead and pull the plug. This is a worry-free decision, right? Not so fast, as a new court ruling shows. First, you better make sure the previous documentation was written by an unbiased supervisor. This begs the timely question: “Who can you trust any more?”

Do you sometimes let employees bend company policy … just a little? It’s really no big deal, right? A new court ruling warns that if you start bending a policy for one, you’d better be ready to bend it for all. Being flexible can sometimes be fatal.