Employees will be employees. You can only do so much to keep them from saying and doing boneheaded things. But once they do, must you respond to every single incident? Yes, you should, a court said this week. Otherwise, your actions could show your “indifference” to harassment claims.

It’s pretty obvious that you should not fire an employee who just filed a discrimination claim. But is that rule sealed in cement? One court recently said, “Nope, not if the reason is really, really, really good enough.” So what’s “good enough?”

The EEOC says you must “reasonably accommodate” employees' religious beliefs and practices. But you can (and should) step in when that religious zeal crosses the line into religious harassment. Just make sure you treat all employees consistently—or you’ll be praying for the lawsuit to go away…

This one just might take the cake. Or, at least frost you ... It’s true that employers sometimes trot out the “equal opportunity jerk” defense in sexual harassment cases, saying the harassing manager was awful to both women and men. But this court says that isn’t much of a defense at all, noting that, “It would be exceedingly perverse” if an employer could shield itself from Title VII liability by showing an alleged harasser sometimes abused men “although his preferred targets were female.”

Look, I keep warning you about the “new” EEOC and how it’s getting more and more aggressive. It’s keeping more cases, rather than issuing “right to sue” letters. It’s securing more smaller settlements, but in greater volume. And it’s creating more burdensome terms to settle consent decrees and conciliation agreements. Now, a new court ruling just gave the EEOC even more powerful ammunition to use against your company if it's accused of discrimination …

When an office romance is in full bloom, it’s a tough secret to keep from the perceptive masses. But how’s an employer supposed to respond when an affair causes turmoil in the workplace? This court decision offers a good warning: Don’t discipline one partner but not the other …

As you may have heard by now, the new health reform law includes a provision to protect nursing mothers who choose to pump breast milk at work. But it’s important to realize that 24 states still have their own laws on this topic. And you must follow whichever law—fed or state—gives the greatest protection to the employee.

Awe c’mon. An employee is obviously pregnant but you can’t even say the “p” word? Does the mere use of the adjective translate into legal liability? One court recently said “relax;” it’s okay to say a woman is pregnant. Just don’t make any employment decisions based on it or comment negatively. Still, it’s a bit tricky, as this case shows …

Listen up! Breaking news! It doesn’t really matter whom you label as a supervisor any more. As a way to hold a company liable for sexually harassing conduct by a “supervisor,” one court recently relabeled a co-worker as a “supervisor,” even though this person had absolutely no power to hire, fire, promote, demote or otherwise affect the harassed employee’s job status. The court, with the support of the EEOC, ruled that just being the “highest ranking employee on site” with the ability to set schedules and dole out discipline makes for a supervisor as a matter of law.

Having a written anti-harassment policy and clear reporting procedure can help you defend a harassment claim. But those aren’t silver bullets. As a new ruling says, your efforts must “be effective to prevent harassment.” In the following case, a manager’s failure to pass along complaints about the actions of a repeat offender were clearly not “effective” …

Who likes confrontation at work? Yet that fear of confrontation can drive a manager to write a glowing evaluation for an average or poor-performing employee—just to avoid conflict and hurt feelings. One court recently warned managers to get over the fear and document accurately … or you’ll lose key legal defenses needed to win discrimination lawsuits.

Read any good books lately? Maybe the next one you ought to pick up is your organization’s own policy and procedures handbook. If I were to quiz you about it right now, could you score 100%? If not, as one court recently warned, a judge may just... throw the book at you!

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.

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 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 …

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 …

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.

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 ...

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.

Does your organization recruit via “word of mouth?” While companies may be spending less on recruitment efforts during these difficult economic times, be careful. A new court ruling says that relying too heavily on this hiring tactic could, in fact, trigger a discrimination lawsuit …