Litigation Value: $0
It’s week 2 of our review of The Office webisodes. This time, we watched “Kevin’s Loan.” In this particularly hilarious webisode, it is revealed that Kevin has a gambling debt. He devises a scheme to pay off his debt by getting a loan to open up a mobile ice cream business. Unfortunately, there are some problems with his plan, although not with the name of one of his flavors — Fudge the Magic Dragon. Kevin enlists the help of Darryl from the warehouse, and hilarity ensues.
From a liability perspective, the main problem I see is that Kevin walks the line of committing fraud. Of course, since Dunder Mifflin isn’t in on the act with him, the company is in pretty good shape. One issue that is worth examining is: What should Oscar and Darryl have done when they became aware of what Kevin was doing on company time?
The answer is that they didn’t have to do anything, unless Dunder Mifflin had a policy addressing the issue. Most whistleblower protection acts don’t cover the wrongful acts of other employees. For the employees of Dunder Mifflin, that’s a good thing. If I had a nickel for every time Creed alone tried to do something illegal, I’d have a lot of nickels.
The Office webisodes are the best kept secrets of the internet. I enjoy them every bit as much as the “aired” episodes!