Here’s a simple rule of thumb: Managers and supervisors should never comment on any aspect of an employee’s sexuality. That goes for female supervisors, too, who may believe that only women can be victims of sexual harassment.

Conflicts over religious accommodation in the workplace have spilled over into the courtroom, as more and more employees try to force employers to bend work schedules to fit their religious practices. It’s no longer just a question of whether employees are entitled to a day off on the Sabbath. In an increasingly diverse workplace, Islamic practices are spurring more litigation.

A female Dallas police officer complained that a co-worker touched her and called her “darling.” A quick internal investigation led to a warning and counseling for the co-worker. It never happened again. Still, the officer sued for sexual harassment ...

Q. For quality-control purposes and to ensure that workers are not making personal telephone calls, we would like to tape-record the calls employees make on company phones. Would that be legal?

Q. An employee who’s been employed since May is out on workers’ comp and will be for a while. Do I send her FMLA paperwork even though she hasn’t met the criteria of being employed for at least a year? It’s my understanding that I should send it to everyone who requests leave, and only after they return the paperwork should I determine if the person is, in fact, eligible.

A federal district court in New Jersey recently approved a settlement in an employment discrimination case where an employee received both front pay and back pay. Hashing out the settlement figure, however, was the easy part. Both sides were confused about how to treat the pay for tax purposes. Do IRS regulations consider both front pay and back pay to be wages?

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.

Q. We have an employee whom we have classified as exempt, but wants to be classified as nonexempt and earn overtime. Frankly, she’s become a pain about the whole thing. Can we just fire her?

Employers that quickly respond to employee sexual harassment and hostile environment complaints cut their liability.

Of course, employees have the right to take protected FMLA leave. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take action you already planned to take for other legitimate reasons before you found out the employee needed FMLA leave.

Employers often have many reasons for choosing one candidate over another. You should document all business-related reasons for your decision. But you don’t have to list them all in the rejection letter you send. Feel free to provide just one reason.

Do you know exactly how you should respond to a sexual or racial harassment complaint? If you don’t, now is a good time to come up with a strategy—before you have to implement it. Advice: Your plan should spell out exactly how the harassment investigation will be handled, who will handle it and what will happen if the allegations prove true.

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against Greenville-based Carter Behavior Health Services, claiming the owner continually harassed female employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor has cited nine blueberry farms and 17 labor contractors for violations of child labor laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The farms and contractors operated in Bladen and Craven counties.

Virginia-based Stanley Furniture has settled a racial harassment suit filed by three employees at the furniture manufacturer’s former plant in Lexington.

Q. In an effort to avoid laying off employees in this tough economy, our company has decided to temporarily reduce everyone’s work hours to 35 hours per week. May we?

Q. My company, a North Carolina corporation, has only four employees, all of whom are equal shareholders. We don’t have employment contracts. May three of us decide to terminate the employment of the other, a 25% shareholder?

Q. My company has about 80 employees spread among four stores in Charlotte and upstate South Carolina. Business is rebounding, and we expect 10 to 15 new hires in the next few months. Proposed changes in immigration laws are often in the news. Is there anything new I should know?

Reductions in force are risky, so plan them carefully. Before you try to explain why you’re letting certain employees go, make sure your reasons make sense.

Employees who complain that a co-worker is being sexually harassed by a supervisor may be engaging in protected activity. That’s because a good-faith complaint may amount to opposition to a discriminatory employment practice. Punishing that employee may then be illegal retaliation.

Q. We’ve started requiring employees to repay (through payroll deduction) training costs if they quit or are fired within one year. Are we OK legally?

Q. An employee says our drug testing program violates his constitutional rights. What can I tell him to prove that we’re well within the law?

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires employers to follow the terms of their collective bargaining agreements when they contribute to employee benefit plans. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to extend the concept of “joint employer” to ERISA’s collective bargaining agreement provision when the second entity has not signed that agreement.

If you have to fire an employee, don’t worry that a court is just waiting to second-guess why you did so. The fact is, courts are reluctant to question your reasons as long as you can convince them the reasons were honest, even if in retrospect they may seem baseless or even foolish. They don’t want to become a national HR department.

Federal employees have special rules they have to follow in order to sue their employers for discrimination. One of these requirements is to contact an Equal Employment Opportunity “counselor” within 45 days of the alleged discriminatory act. The 9th Circuit has concluded that employees don’t have to contact the individual their employer has designated as the EEO counselor ...