A jury socked it to a Wisconsin employer last year in a Family and Medical Leave Act case, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed.

Well, I take that back. The Seventh Circuit didn't affirm completely -- no, it ordered the trial court to give the plaintiff more in attorneys' fees than she had already won.

Check it out:

Tracy Wink was a clerical employee for ...

"An apple a day keeps the doctor lawyer away." Here are five easy and inexpensive things that employers can do to minimize their risk of being sued and maximize their chances of victory if they do get sued. None of these involve major expense, or even the use of lawyers.

1. Err on the side of treating your workers as (a) non-exempt and (b) "employees." Let this be your default ...