Thank goodness for small favors!  With The Office on summer break, we didn’t have to face Thursday night with trepidation, fearing that Michael would, in his affable way, fling impertinent comments about the Iranian election crisis around for all to hear. We are probably not the only ones breathing a sigh of relief either. After all, nearly every company is home to employees who feel uncomfortable when in the midst of insulting and derogatory comments. It is hard to imagine who they are at Dunder Mifflin, but it’s not all that unusual to not know who is privately offended. In a raucous or excessively jovial work environment, people often don’t express their discomfort at off-color jokes and quips.

Allowing culturally insensitive banter in the workplace not only is likely to alienate some employees, but it also may even give rise to a hostile work environment claim if allowed to continue unchecked. Dunder Mifflin could sure benefit from some well-designed diversity training, not to mention supervisor training.

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Litigation Value:  $0
Potential Savings:  $10,000 per retained employee

Last night’s rerun didn’t offer much new, so we’ll fulfill our promise to revisit the second “Michael Scott Paper Company” episode.

Michael crafted a deal to house his new company’s headquarters in a Dunder Mifflin closet. The dream team’s starry-eyed optimism soon wore off after Michael, Pam, and Ryan moved into their new digs. The makeshift office was cramped and uncomfortable, affording no one the illusion of a personal workspace. In fact, between the shared laptop, Ryan’s loud phone calls, and the sound of rushing water every time a toilet flushed, morale dipped dangerously low. In short order, Pam was disillusioned and more than ready to abandon her new position in the hopes of returning to Dunder Mifflin.

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After watching last night’s repeat of The Office, I decided that some of my clients’ stories this week were more titillating. That’s what she said. (Couldn’t resist.)

The theme of calls that I got this week almost made me feel like I was on the show. I looked for cameras (and Ashton and Howie) more than a few times. It started bright and early Monday morning. At my client’s business office, a supervisor started teasing his subordinate about her weight. He told her that the economy had not gotten in the way of her eating, that there were kids in whole counties that go without that she could feed if she skipped a meal, etc. Michael, is that you?

Tuesday and Wednesday were even better (of course, just from a “I can’t believe this train wreck is happening” perspective). A different client’s regional manager (yes, regional manager) called a lunch meeting to boost morale. He noted that purpose in his email. At the lunch, he began making fun of people. He poked fun at their physical appearances, their ethnicities, and their poor work ethic. He wasn’t random about it; the folks he was joking about were being laid off — that week. Better: His boss was at the lunch. And, he laughed and laughed. Michael? David (but without judgment)?

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Litigation cost: $0 – $50,000

Even though NBC is taking a break from The Office this week, we aren’t. The latest webisode, “Blackmail,” may be short but it packs a potential punch for Dunder Mifflin.

Creed wreaks quiet havoc by gathering his colleagues’ best-kept secrets and using them to extort favors or a paltry $6 from each of them. Nonetheless, it’s blackmail. So far, even though Creed appears to be violating the law, Dunder Mifflin can probably skate by without liability since there is no indication that anyone in a supervisory position had reason to know or should have known about the nefarious plot unfolding in the workplace. And, Creed was not acting within the scope of his duties.

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