Weekly Office Review and 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: “Golden Ticket”
The Plot: Michael hides golden tickets in paper packages for customers to redeem for a 10% discount. Unfortunately, the company’s biggest customer gets all five tickets and demands a 50% discount.
My Analysis:
- Issue: Lying During an Investigation
Description: Michael blatantly and repeatedly lied to the company’s CFO, blaming the golden ticket idea on Dwight. Michael then compounded the problem by harassing Dwight into going along with the story. Michael also destroyed evidence and falsified documents. Even though Michael fully admitted his misconduct to the CFO, the CFO did nothing. Taking into consideration his approximately 83,000 previous violations, Michael should be fired. Dwight also lied to the CFO and should face serious discipline, given his approximately 76,000 previous violations.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Workplace Violence
Description: Michael slapped Dwight. Dwight slapped Michael. Jim slapped Dwight. Michael and Dwight wrestled. Someday, somebody’s going to get hurt and the company will have few defenses because of its clear pattern of allowing such shenanigans.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Harassment
Description: The hostile work environment claims continue to expand exponentially. Among other things, Michael made an insensitive religious joke comparing Buddha to butter. Dwight called Creed “old man.” Several employees made inappropriate sex-related comments, particularly Pam, Jim and Andy as they attempted to give Kevin “advice” on dating. Unfortunately, Kevin heeded their suggestions and made an inappropriate comment to a woman in the company parking lot.
Risk: $$$$
OFFICIAL “ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A LAWYER?” CONTEST: Anyone who spots an employment law issue that I missed and either (1) leaves a comment below or (2) shoots me an e-mail at blawg@manpower.com 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!
March 13th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Don’t forget that Michael called Darryl an “idiot” – referring to all the tickets being sent out in the same shipment. Thankfully Darryl told Michael to “start over”.
Another great episode!
March 13th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Hello Kimberley! I actually had that in my notes but didn’t include it in my write-up. (I’ll bet I’m the only person in America who watches the show with a notebook and pen in hand.) But now that you mention it, I suppose Darryl could use that comment against Michael in some way. Based on Michael’s past conduct, Darryl has several potential claims (e.g., discrimination, harassment, emotional distress, etc., etc.) against the company and this comment could be used to show further “animus” on Michael’s part. Congrats — we’ll send you a gift certificate! Mark