Litigation Value: Approximately $450,000 (depends on how much Meredith’s medical bills are)

It is good to be back and last night’s episode was a great start for a promising season!

When a manager runs over an employee with a company car on company property, it’s time to contact the finance department about setting aside a pot of money to pay the large verdict that will eventually be awarded against the company. Especially where, as is the case here, the accident may not be covered by workers’ compensation. Add to that Michael’s admission to his boss that the accident was caused by his “negligence,” and Meredith has the beginnings of a nice little lawsuit. Maybe this would be the time for Dunder Mifflin’s attorneys to remind Michael of my favorite saying: “If you can’t be good, then, for the love of God, just be quiet.”

Speaking of God, we generally recommend that our clients refrain from calling a staff meeting for the express purpose of inquiring about their employees’ religious beliefs. And we really try to discourage managers from suggesting that the staff perform animal sacrifices to some creature with the body of a walrus and the head of a meerkat. Suffice it to say that what Michael calls an ‘investigation” into whether his branch is cursed, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission calls “evidence” of religious discrimination.

Almost time for the season opener! Be sure to tune in next week for my recap of what promises to be a hilarious show. As for today, business calls and I’m in New Orleans with a malfunctioning computer. I’m re-posting my earlier post from the season finale. More to follow just as soon as my technology is up and running!

LITIGATION VALUE: $50,000 (with the potential for a whole lot more)

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Companies that use pre-employment tests to screen applicants should, at the very least, make sure that the skills being tested are those skills that the position requires. Holding a Survivor-like contest to determine who will be recommended for a promotion to regional manager does not pass this test. Not even a little bit. Indeed, tests that are more job-related have been found to have a discriminatory impact on applicants in protected categories.

Take, for example, the Dial Corporation. Earlier this year, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $3.4 million jury verdict for Dial’s use of a discriminatory “work tolerance test” that asked applicants to carry a 35-pound bar back and forth between two frames for seven minutes in front of an occupational therapist. If that cost $3.4 million, imagine how much Dunder Mifflin is on the hook for after using fire walking, hot dog eating, and sumo wrestling as tests for becoming the regional manager of a paper company.

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