Q: I run a small business — just 20 people. Although we have an attendance policy, I’ve never really laid down the law; as long as people got their work done I didn’t get involved in writing them up for coming in late, or calling in sick on short notice. Until last week. This one guy has been coming in 15 minutes to a half hour late almost every day. I told him a couple of times he was abusing the process, but it didn’t make any difference. I called him into my office and explained that he had violated the company’s policy and could be terminated. He accused me of discriminating against him because of his age — he’s only 21 — and threatened to sue if I fired him. I only wanted to give him a warning, but after this, I’d be glad to see his back. Can he really sue for age discrimination? I thought that was only for people who are over 45 or something?

A: Unfortunately, there are two issues presented in your question, and you seem to be on the wrong side of the law on both.

First off, having policies for your workers is no good if you don’t consistently enforce them. Not only can inconsistent enforcement of a policy lead to abuse, it can also foster poor employee morale. In your case, those who do show up on time, or work late to make up for a late arrival, are probably not thrilled to see others coming in late day after day without any penalty. And, failing to enforce a policy makes it really hard to enforce when you need to.

Normally, violation of a work policy is a...

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