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: “Secret Santa.”
The Plot: Here’s NBC’s official description: “Secret Santa.” Here’s NBC’s official description: “Michael is outraged when Jim allows Phyllis to plan Santa at this year’s office holiday party.”
My Analysis:
- Issue: Religious Discrimination
Description: Michael seemingly spent the entire episode trying to rack up as many religious discrimination lawsuits as humanly possible. Virtually anyone of any faith could file a lawsuit and win. The fact that he was given a microphone and speaker at one point only magnified the problem. Michael should never ever be amplified.
Risk: $$$$ - Issue: Harassment
Description: Virtually everyone engaged in harassment-ish behavior this week. Santa Phyllis hugged Jim and had several male employees sit on her lap. Santa Michael asked various female employees (and Kevin) to sit on his lap, making lots of inappropriate comments along the way. Ryan (uncomfortably) hugged Toby.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Gender Discrimination
Description: Michael made disparaging comments about Phyllis — a female — being allowed to play Santa, referring to her as “Tranny Claus.” That coupled with his previous other approximately 73 billion ill-advised comments about women could easily form the basis of a class action lawsuit.
Risk: $$$$ - Issue: Worker’s Compensation
Description: Several arguably workplace-related injuries occurred. Dwight’s shouting related to the holiday party announcement may have caused Jim inner-ear damage. Michael appeared to sustain some sort of injury when Kevin sat on his lap. Andy gave Erin several wild birds as part of his “Twelve Days of Christmas” Secret Santa gift, resulting in facial lacerations when they attacked her. Also, employees may have ingested dangerous bacteria as a result of Michael plunging his Santa hat into the punch bowl.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Evil Creed
Description: The fact that the company still employs Creed, an employee who rarely comes to work and when he’s there does little more than steal office supplies and/or talk about drugs and sex, is nothing short of astonishing. This week, Creed admitted that he is pure “evil.” That pretty much sums up Creed’s existence. HR “professional” Toby should document that admission and add it to Creed’s personnel file.
Risk: $$ - Issue: HR Defamation
Description: Michael referred to Toby as “the Antichrist.” Allowing managers to disdain HR is a great way to increase potential legal liability.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Workplace Violence
Description: Dwight’s workplace violence incidents have now topped the 1,000 mark. This week, he viciously stomped a Christmas tree and attempted to turn a Secret Santa nutcracker gift into a gun. If the company doesn’t take action against Dwight soon, it could face a big-$$$ lawsuit if he ever turns his violent propensities toward humans rather than inanimate objects.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Sexual Orientation
Description: Daryl and Pam made comments about Oscar’s and Matt’s sexual orientation. Oscar previously claimed sexual orientation discrimination by the company. Each week, he gets a little more ammunition for his next claim.
Risk: $$$ - Issue: Breach of Contract
Description: Phyllis appeared to be contemplating a breach of contract claim against the company for reneging on its promise that she would have the exclusive right to portray Santa. Michael also complained, calling the company’s CFO and saying that Phyllis was “uslurping” his traditional Santa role.
Risk: $ - Issue: Unauthorized Taping
Description: Apparently, the company’s CFO taped multiple conversations with Michael and had others listen in on the calls. Such actions are illegal in some states.
Risk: $$ - Issue: Breach of Confidentiality
Description: The company’s CFO (and then Michael) undoubtedly violated a non-disclosure agreement when they revealed to employees that the company is about to be sold. If those revelations hit the public or in any way negatively affect the sale, the company could be in big trouble.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Misrepresentation/Emotional Distress
Description: Michael got the company’s CFO on the phone under false pretenses, posing as the CFO’s wife and fabricating a medical emergency.
Risk: $ - Issue: Theft of Company Time
Description: For approximately the 88th consecutive week, no one in the office did any discernible work of any kind.
Risk: $$ - Issue: Various Other Inappropriate Comments/Actions
Description: Once again, virtually every employee said or did something inappropriate. In just one example, Michael gathered all the employees in a circle and then proceeded to make an inappropriate comment about each and every person’s protected class status. 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!