The Office: Weekly Review & Contest
In my humble opinion, NBC’s The Office is the world’s #1 employment law training aid. All you have to do is (1) watch it and (2) do the exact opposite of everything you see.
To help enhance your viewing experience, each week I provide a critique of the action from an employment lawyer’s perspective.
Last Night’s Episode: “Mafia.”
The Plot: Here’s NBC’s official description: “Michael is convinced an insurance salesman visiting the office is part of the Mafia and sets out to prove it.”
My Analysis:
- Issue: How Not to Train
Description: The company should never ever allow Michael to conduct any form of training. In a rather lame “Business Fundamentals” session, Michael made inappropriate comments about potential mental disabilities. When the office’s HR “professional,” Toby, tried to correct him, Michael threw him out of the meeting. Michael then asked Meredith to share a story (never a good idea) to help illustrate a point. Meredith promptly launched into a graphic discussion about her son’s bowel movements, making everyone uncomfortable.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Michael the Author
Description: Michael started writing a business book. The company must do whatever it takes to stop him. The world should not be exposed to Michael’s approach to anything related to the workplace.
Risk: $$$$ - Issue: Theft of Company Time
Description: Michael’s morning calendar was blocked off for “Creative Space”; his afternoon was blocked off for “Free Play.” (In other words, he spent his day pretty much like every other day — not working.)
Risk: $$ - Issue: Improper Office Use
Description: With Jim out on his honeymoon, Kevin has been “borrowing” his office as a place to pass gas. It may have to be condemned (or at least thoroughly fumigated).
Risk: $$ - Issue: Identity Fraud
Description: Kevin answered a phone call from Jim’s credit card company, rummaged through Jim’s stuff to find his social security number and ultimately managed to get the card cancelled. Kevin’s actions will undoubtedly put a crimp in Jim’s honeymoon and could result in all kinds of potential damages including emotional distress, loss of consortium, etc.
Risk: $$ - Issue: National Origin Discrimination
Description: Graphically demonstrating the danger of judging someone by their appearance, Michael, Dwight and Andy all made inappropriate comments about an insurance salesman’s supposed “Southern Italian heritage.”
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Inhuman Resources
Description: Toby admitted that he’s been “checked out” since June. That — combined with the 6,981 employment violations since then — exposes the company to serious risk of multiple class actions. A company without HR will soon be a company with lawsuits.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Workplace Violence
Description: Dwight can’t go a week without committing some sort of workplace violence. This week, he decapitated a roach which also could result in an emotional distress claim for all those around him who were attempting to eat lunch. Both Dwight and Andy threatened harm to the suspected Mafia man.
Risk: $$ - Issue: Fraud/Misrepresentation
Description: Andy, posing as a mechanic with Michael’s full consent, basically blew up a woman’s car when he tried to jump-start it. If she relies on his diagnosis of the problem — that the car has a “leaky spark tube” — the damages could increase.
Risk: $$ - Issue: More Emotional Distress
Description: Michael contacted Jim on his honeymoon under false pretenses, telling Jim’s hotel that it was a “medical emergency.” Michael admittedly did so with full knowledge that Jim’s father has a serious heart condition.
Risk: $$ - Issue: Attempted Accounting Fraud
Description: Michael attempted to induce Oscar to commit accounting fraud to cover up Michael’s ill-advised purchase of excessive insurance from the suspected Mafia man.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Various Other Inappropriate Comments/Actions
Description: Once again, virtually every employee said or did something inappropriate. The main culprits this week were Kevin (comments about Oscar’s sexual orientation) and Michael (basically everything that came out of his mouth). At this point, every employee could sue the company for something and win.
Risk: $$$$$
OFFICIAL “ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A LAWYER?” CONTEST: Anyone who leaves a comment below identifying an employment law issue that I missed will win a valuable prize. If you didn’t get a chance to see the episode, you can view it on NBC’s official web site here.
As always, thanks for your participation!
