Another huge THANKS to the 2,467 of you who have viewed our latest webinar thus far. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, below is a convenient SlideShare version. If you’d like to watch the full-blown version (with audio, etc.), click here.

Enjoy!

The Blawg will officially be on vacation this week for some scheduled maintenance and so that I can fully enjoy my final family vacation with our soon-to-be-leaving-the-nest 18-year-old twins.

See you next week!

Congrats to ED CARPENTER, winner of our monthly “Spot the Bogus Employee Celebration” Contest. Ed was the first to identify Reply to All E-mails with the Phrase “Your e-mail is one of approximately 87,000 I received today – I will respond in approximately 87 years” Day as the fake holiday. Believe it or not, the rest are very real. Click here for the full list.

In recognition of Ed’s efforts, we’ll send her a gift certificate good for any of the fine establishments on giftcertificates.com. Thanks to all who participated — enjoy the month!

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: “The Chump.” Here’s NBC’s official summary: “Michael reacts well to learning bad news; Pam and Jim have issues staying awake while at the office; Angela confronts Dwight about their contract.”

My Analysis:

1. Issue: Radon Riddance
   Description: Michael admittedly threw away several radon testers — two mistakenly and one just to “spite” HR “professional” Toby. He also repeatedly disrupted Toby’s radon training session by making farting noises (in response to a remark by Toby about radon being “silent but deadly”). Michael’s actions could open the company to significant liability if any employees develop radon-related medical issues.
   Risk: $$$$$
2. Issue: Workplace Violence
   Description: Michael made a highly inappropriate comment indicating that if he was in a room with Toby, Hitler and Osama bin Laden and had a gun with only two bullets, he would shoot Toby twice. Dwight then demonstrated in graphic detail how he could kill all three with a “single shot to the throat.” Given all the previous other workplace violence incidents (particularly by Dwight), the company could face humongous liability at some point.
   Risk: $$$$$$$
3. Issue: Theft of Company Time (and Other Bad Stuff)
   Description: Once again, no employees did any discernible work. Most of the staff spent the episode trying to convince Michael to break off his relationship with Donna. Michael wasted additional time by ordering the entire office to observe “ten minutes of silence” in honor of Michael Jackson. Andy and Michael left the office on company time to stalk Donna’s husband. Dwight and Angela met with a mediator in a company conference room to resolve their “birthing contract” dispute. Jim and Pam each took a pair of naps. After Gabe discovered the first nap, he did little to address it other than lamely scold them. Daryl (now a manager) sanctioned the second nap and even recommended a sleeping spot that he helped set up in the warehouse. Dwight and Angela agreed to an unlawful arrangement bordering on prostitution and then engaged in unspeakable acts in the warehouse within earshot of Pam and Jam, clearly causing them severe emotional distress.
   Risk: $$$$$
4. Issue: Workplace Injury?
   Description: Dwight intentionally (and repeatedly) injured himself on company property. If he tries to file a workers’ comp claim, there should be plenty of evidence that it isn’t compensable.
   Risk: $
5. Issue: Unethical Leadership
   Description: Michael’s refusal to stop seeing Donna despite the fact that she’s married led to various of his subordinates openly questioning his ethics and character. Michael compounded the problem by (1) asserting that he is entitled to do whatever he wants whenever he wants and then (2) stealing another employee’s orange and (3) eating Meredith’s birthday cake without permission. His reprehensible behavior rubbed off on Ryan, who propositioned Erin in a clearly unwelcome manner. Unethical leaders can poison an entire organization and create significant liability. Just ask Enron.
   Risk: $$$$$$$
6. Issue: Loss of Consortium
   Description: It’s a stretch, but Donna’s husband could potentially file a lawsuit against the company for loss of consortium (a fancy legal term for “your bad acts ruined my marriage”), given the fact that several managers are aware of Michael’s affair with Donna but failed to take appropriate steps to stop it.
   Risk: $$
7. Issue: Don’t Let Michael Talk to the Press
   Description: Michael confessed his affair live on the air to a news reporter. In doing so, he potentially opened himself and the company to a variety of claims from Donna and her husband (e.g., defamation, invasion of privacy, etc.). He also may have inadvertently admitted that the company should bear responsibility for its printers bursting into flames (since that’s what the reporter was actually asking him about).
   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!

A huge THANKS to the 2,167 of you who attended yesterday’s webinar. Hope you enjoyed it!

If you were unable to attend, click here to view the replay.

Enjoy!

Congrats to SHERRY, winner of our official “Smartest Person in the Audience” Contest following yesterday’s webinar.

In recognition of Sherry’s efforts, she will receive a $100 gift certificate good for any of the fine merchants on giftcertificates.com.

The correct answers to the were B, B, B, C and D.

Thanks to all who participated!

You are hereby notified that you have a mandatory training session this evening. At 9/8c, you are required to tune in to your local NBC affiliate and watch the episode of The Office. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action.

In my humble opinion, The Office is the world’s greatest employment law training aid. All you have to do is (1) watch it and (2) do the exact opposite of everything you see.

TONIGHT’S EPISODE:

The Chump. Here’s NBC’s official description: “Michael reacts well to learning bad news; Pam and Jim have issues staying awake while at the office; Angela confronts Dwight over their contract.”

OFFICIAL “ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A LAWYER?” CONTEST. Tune in tomorrow to see my detailed analysis of the episodes and exactly what I would tell Dunder Mifflin if I were its lawyer. Anyone who spots an employment law issue that I missed will be entitled to a valuable prize.

Enjoy!

CONGRATS to all the Text-o-Rama winners in today’s webinar. Here they are:

• Question #1: Nathan ($25 gift certificate)
• Question #2: Amy (The Office gift pack)
• Question #3: Ed ($50 gift certificate)
• Question #4: Lisa ($100 gift certificate)

We’ll text each of you to give you all the details. Thanks for all your participation!

To help reward those who managed to stay awake throughout my entire webinar today, here’s our Official “Smartest Person in the Audience” Contest.

The rules are simple: the first person to leave a comment below with the correct answers to the following questions wins. The prize: a $100 gift card to any of the fine merchants on giftcertificates.com.

Here are the questions. All you have to include is the question number and your answer. Enjoy!

1.  The new Dodd-Frank law applies only to financial institutions.
     A.  True
     B.  False
     C.  I was napping at that point in the webinar and thus don’t know the answer

2.  In addition to all the health care changes, what else does PPACA require?
     A.  Extension of the COBRA subsidy to December 31, 2010
     B.  Breaks for nursing mothers
     C.  All U.S. citizens to move to Canada

3.  True or False? Employers win the majority of employment lawsuits.
     A.  True
     B.  False
     C.  It is unlawful in most states for employers to win

4.  Whom should you call first when confronted with a tricky accommodation issue?
     A.  Your favorite employment lawyer
     B.  The EEOC’s new Disability Accommodation Center (DAC)
     C.  The Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
     D.  The employee’s spouse

5.  What is the finest workforce solutions company in the history of the universe?
     A.  Manpower
     B.  Manpower
     C.  Manpower
     D.  All of the above

Thanks again for your participation!

Click here to join the 6,509 highly intelligent individuals who subscribe to our Employment Law Alerts. 

Every other week or so, I send out a brief summary of all the major employment law developments in an easy-to-digest format.  The goal is to give you the news you need to stay on top of the law and out of jail.

The next Alert will be coming out shortly.  Enjoy!