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Another week without even a rerun, so to find something to write about, we turn to Steve Carrell’s movie catalogue. Anchorman proves to provide plenty of HR lessons — lessons that are strikingly similar to those we see with Michael Scott and gang in Scranton.
LITIGATION VALUE: $1,000,000 (in pre-inflation, 1976 dollars).
In “The Deposition” episode of “The Office,” Michael Scott tries to testify against his employer, Dundler Mifflin, after his girlfriend Jan Levinson sues the company for wrongful termination. While Michael is being deposed, his e-mail, personal diary, and performance reviews are used. Employment law attorney Troy Foster reminds us that “that nothing at work should ever be considered completely private.”
I could write about Michael’s deposition all year long. But for this post, I’ll focus on Michael’s rights. Yes, I said Michael’s rights to privacy. Not only did some e-mail get used in the deposition but also his performance review and even his diary were used.
Dwight Shurte and Creed Bratton from The Office both have blogs. Dwight warns readers that they shouldn’t be reading his blog while they are at work. Employment law attorney Troy Foster reminds HR and employers that they should have policies about employees blogging about work as well as at work.
With another week with no episode of The Office, I had to find something interesting to get your attention! In that endeavor, I stumbled across a couple of blogs — one by Dwight and the other by Creed.
My love of “The Office” causes me to lament these weeks where we don’t get a new episode (or even repeat) to enjoy. But while I certainly miss my weekly dose of Michael and gang, I need not look further than our very own United States Supreme Court to provide us with more scintillating material for HR nuggets of wisdom.
Take, for instance, the Supreme Court’s “BONG HITS 4 JESUS” case – decided last term. Don’t know why this one caught my attention. I am still trying to figure out what “BONG HITS 4 JESUS” even means. Part of me wishes that it was a local church’s way of trying to attract some more youthful congregants. But anyway, the Court said that it was okay for the principal to suspend a student for unfurling a fifteen-foot banner with the words “BONG HITS 4 JESUS” right in front of television cameras as the Olympic torch passed by the high school on its way to
Salt Lake City in 2002.
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