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An employee took a day of paid-time-off leave, but her supervisor called and texted several times to ask work-related questions. Does that time still count against her PTO bank, or should some of it be paid? Does it make a difference if they are an hourly employee or on salary?

Disciplinary and termination meetings are emotionally charged events that carry the potential for nasty words, hurt feelings and even legal troubles. You need to be prepared for anything, including employees who “let it all out” in long, loud tirades.

Most handbooks explain the kinds of employee misconduct that might warrant termination. However, it’s impossible to envision every situation that might add up to a firing offense. That’s OK. If an employee does or says something that clearly requires immediate discharge, don’t let the lack of a handbook policy stop you from acting.

A bipartisan group of members of Congress have introduced two pieces of legislation that would expand access to paid family leave. The product of two years of work by the House Paid Family Leave Working Group, the twin initiatives would facilitate federal support of state programs.

To protect the public from unlawful conduct, whistleblower laws make it illegal to retaliate against employees who complain to public agencies about employer actions that endanger the public or break the law.

Willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act carry much harsher, more costly penalties than inadvertent violations. Employers can avoid being labelled a willful violator by showing they made a good-faith effort to comply with the law.

No law specifically prohibits a workplace rule requiring employees to only speak English on the job. However, the EEOC is aggressively challenging English-only rules under Title VII, which bars national-origin discrimination.

Once the employer realizes leave might be FMLA-covered, it must send the employee an FMLA eligibility notice. That way, the employee knows how to formally request leave. Failing to send the notice after suspecting the employee is eligible is a separate FMLA violation.

Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, it’s illegal to offer different benefits to workers ages 40 and older than you offer to younger employees. That’s true even if it costs you more to provide the same benefits to older workers.

Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period. According to the regulations, employers are permitted to choose from among four methods for measuring the “12-month period” in which the 12 weeks of leave entitlement occurs.