Answer to Question of the Week #15
Each week, we post a thought-provoking question for your consideration. Here’s last week’s question, along with your answers . . .
Which employee on TV’s The Office would be most likely to expose the company to serious liability?
a. Jim, the office prankster who is dating a subordinate (13%)
b. Toby, the hapless HR guy who never seems to enforce a single policy (34%)
c. Dwight, the bobble-headed sales guy who brings weapons and dead animals to work (11%)
d. Michael, the manager who disdains everything about HR (43%)
e. Andy, a violence-prone moron who’s dating/stalking a co-worker (9%)
Congrats — you got it right! The correct answer is indeed Michael.
As a general matter, the higher up the wrongdoer is, the greater the potential liability can be. This is demonstrated over and over in the employment law news items posted here on the Blawg.
If you’ve ever seen The Office, you probably cringer every .03 seconds at Michael’s frequent employment law gaffes. As the boss, he has the overall responsibility for the office and sets the tone. If he’s not following the law, others probably won’t either.
The other characters described above undoubtedly expose the company to potential liability in their own special ways, just not as much as their leader. Your second choice, Toby, is probably the next most likely to expose the company to serious risk. If the HR leader is weak at enforcing the law and company policies, liability potential increases signficantly.
Our advice: The Office is truly the world’s greatest employment law training device. We recommend instructing all your employees to watch each episode closely and then do the exact opposite of what the characters do.
Our viewers are now batting a respectable .533 (8 right, 7 wrong) on our weekly questions. The next one will be coming your way shortly.
Thanks for your participation!
