Weekly Office Analysis 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: “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:
- 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: $$$$$ - Issue: Workplace Violence
Description: Michael made a highly inappropriate comment indicating that if he was in a room with Toby, Hitler and Osama bin Laden and had a gun with only two bullets, he would shoot Toby twice. Dwight then demonstrated in graphic detail how he could kill all three with a “single shot to the throat.” Given all the previous other workplace violence incidents (particularly by Dwight), the company could face humongous liability at some point.
Risk: $$$$$$$ - Issue: Theft of Company Time (and Other Bad Stuff)
Description: Once again, no employees did any discernible work. Most of the staff spent the episode trying to convince Michael to break off his relationship with Donna. Michael wasted additional time by ordering the entire office to observe “ten minutes of silence” in honor of Michael Jackson. Andy and Michael left the office on company time to stalk Donna’s husband. Dwight and Angela met with a mediator in a company conference room to resolve their “birthing contract” dispute. Jim and Pam each took a pair of naps. After Gabe discovered the first nap, he did little to address it other than lamely scold them. Daryl (now a manager) sanctioned the second nap and even recommended a sleeping spot that he helped set up in the warehouse. Dwight and Angela agreed to an unlawful arrangement bordering on prostitution and then engaged in unspeakable acts in the warehouse within earshot of Pam and Jam, clearly causing them severe emotional distress.
Risk: $$$$$ - Issue: Workplace Injury?
Description: Dwight intentionally (and repeatedly) injured himself on company property. If he tries to file a workers’ comp claim, there should be plenty of evidence that it isn’t compensable.
Risk: $ - Issue: Unethical Leadership
Description: Michael’s refusal to stop seeing Donna despite the fact that she’s married led to various of his subordinates openly questioning his ethics and character. Michael compounded the problem by (1) asserting that he is entitled to do whatever he wants whenever he wants and then (2) stealing another employee’s orange and (3) eating Meredith’s birthday cake without permission. His reprehensible behavior rubbed off on Ryan, who propositioned Erin in a clearly unwelcome manner. Unethical leaders can poison an entire organization and create significant liability. Just ask Enron.
Risk: $$$$$$$ - Issue: Loss of Consortium
Description: It’s a stretch, but Donna’s husband could potentially file a lawsuit against the company for loss of consortium (a fancy legal term for “your bad acts ruined my marriage”), given the fact that several managers are aware of Michael’s affair with Donna but failed to take appropriate steps to stop it.
Risk: $$ - 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!
August 12th, 2010 at 9:49 am
This is a great post idea — I have often thought about what a great “reverse barometer” Michael (and many of the other characters in the show) is for good management and even effective living.
Things seem to have gotten a little more ridiculous in the more recent seasons of the show, as tends to happen. In the early days Michael tended to come off as an idiot, but one who sometimes would inadvertently stumble across the right course of action.
Two examples would be when he scored that valuable client (played by Tim Meadows) by just being himself despite Jan’s objections early on and the time when Jim tried to combine all the birthdays and Michael then had his monologue about all the mistakes he’s made (and learned from) in his days as a manager.
They’re not really law issues, though. I was just pointing out how the show has not always been such a case study of how to not run an office.