Five Detroit police officers have filed a lawsuit challenging a department policy that forces pregnant officers to go on sick leave as soon as their supervisors find out they’re pregnant.

Many employers looking for ways to deal with the financial hardships of today’s tough economy are considering reductions in force (RIFs), layoffs and other forms of organizational restructuring. But how you conduct a RIF may spell the difference between a fresh start for the company and a nightmare of litigation ...

Employers sometimes come up with some very specific rules for when and how employees must call in to let their bosses know they will miss work. Sometimes those rules become contracts ...

If you have a zero-tolerance policy for employees drinking alcohol on duty, employees who are fired for breaking the rules may be denied unemployment compensation benefits—even if the employee wasn’t impaired enough to be criminally charged with drunken driving.

It’s important for employers to plan to prevent workplace violence and respond to it if prevention fails. While every employer needs a customized plan that fits its particular workplace, good violence-prevention strategies share common elements.

In October, the University of Illinois released a statement informing students and faculty that a state ethics law bars state workers from political activities on campus. Students and faculty protested, claiming the university was trampling on their First Amendment rights.

Cincinnati Police Officers Keith Fangman and Paul Graves Jr. filed a class-action lawsuit challenging city rules they say prevented them from supporting their chosen presidential candidates.

Employees who take intermittent leave can wreak havoc with work schedules. Because their conditions can flare up at any time, their absences are by nature unpredictable. But there are ways you can legally curtail intermittent leave. One way is to use the calendar-year method to set FMLA leave eligibility.

Q. We provide PDAs to virtually all our employees, some of whom are nonexempt. This enables them to send and respond to e-mails at all hours of the day and night. Does an employee’s time spent on his or her PDA outside of work count as hours worked?

December is the time for holiday parties. If you throw an employee bash that involves alcohol, make sure no one is on the clock or has to work on behalf of the organization. Better yet, don’t provide alcohol.

If you hire a security company to help keep your workplace safe for customers and employees, make sure your supervisors don’t wind up providing specific direction to the guards the company assigns to your company. If you and your staff resist the temptation to control their every move and give them just general instructions, the security company and its guards remain independent contractors. That’s important for liability reasons.

If you have employees or operations in New York City, your sexual harassment and discrimination policies must reflect the strict rules employers are required to follow under the New York City Human Rights Law. It all adds up to a challenging HR environment. Your best bet in New York City—adopt a zero-tolerance policy for any sort of sexual, racial or other harassment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from religious discrimination. It outlaws treating employees or applicants differently based on their religion in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, promotions, discipline and pay. To help employers comply with the law, the EEOC issued new, specific guidelines in July 2008.

Employees may think of “their” desks as their own private domains—safe places to keep their own things literally under lock and key. However, employers do have the right to open that locked drawer. When the desk is in an open area shared with other employees, the employee with the key doesn’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy.