The Office: Weekly Analysis & 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: “Shareholder Meeting.”
The Plot: Here’s NBC’s official description: “Michael discovers he’s going to be honored by David Wallace in New York and brings Dwight, Andy and Oscar along for the ride.”
My Analysis:
- Issue: Workplace Violence
Description: Another week, another workplace violence incident involving Dwight. This time, Dwight dressed up as “Recyclops” in honor of Green Week. His costume included a sign that said “KILL,” as well as a sword and potentially dangerous hockey stick. After babbling some nonsense about taking over the planet, he went on a rampage and damaged lots of company property. The fact that (1) Dwight dons the costume every year and (2) nothing has been done to stop him could expose the company to serious liability if ever hurts any humans. My advice: fire Dwight now.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Shareholder Class Action
Description: Facing bankruptcy, the company exponentially increased its potential legal liability, PR difficulties and damage to employee morale by (1) allowing Michael to address an angry shareholder meeting, (2) sending a limo to pick him up, (3) holding the meeting in a swanky hotel, (4) allowing execs to graze on fancy food in an expensive hospitality suite and (5) making multiple false and misleading public statements, among other things.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Theft of Company Time; Insubordination
Description: Despite Jim’s continued exhortations for employees to actually do some work, almost no one did. He finally dealt with the ever-insubordinate-and-video-game-playing Ryan by banishing him to a broom closet. Oscar was allowed to engage in arguably insubordinate conduct (e.g., saying that the company’s initials – DMI — stand for “Dummies, Morons and Idiots” running the company). Michael also engaged in insubordinate conduct by disobeying orders not to take the limo back to Scranton.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Workplace Drunkenness
Description: Phyllis took a two-hour lunch, drank heavily and returned to work tipsy. When Jim confronted her, she (slurringly) told him that Michael has let her engage in that conduct for years. The fact that neither Michael nor Jim has done anything to address her behavior could expose the company to liability if she hurts herself or others. The fact that Michael boozed it up with other subordinates during the limo ride doesn’t help matters.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Various Other Inappropriate Comments/Actions
Description: Once again, virtually every employee said or did something inappropriate. The main culprits this week were Meredith (comment about bowel movements), Michael (comment about body parts and Oscar’s national origin), Dwight (comment about body parts and Oscar’s sexual orientation) and Andy (comment about sex). At this point, virtually every employee could sue the company for something and win.
Risk: $$$$$$$$$
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!
