Finale

Litigation Value:  Bless your heart if you’re still keeping track at this point.

This blog has always focused on bad behavior.  We tease out employment law issues by writing about the characters who do things in the workplace that one simply does not do. So last night’s series finale of the The Office poses quite a challenge in that most of the characters, with a few notable exceptions, exhibited exemplary behavior.

Take Dwight, for example. There was hope early on when he gave Kevin his “Get Out”  that he might fuel a few lawsuits. It was not to be. By the end of the episode, Dwight was careful to turn Pam and Jim’s departure into a termination just so he could offer them a generous severance package. After all these years, Jim has gone from Dwight’s mortal enemy to his bestest mensch.

The return of Michael Scott created many possibilities for employment-related mischief. But aside from one of the greatest “that’s what she said” moments in the history of the show, even Michael was on his best behavior. Same with Oscar, Angela, Phyllis, Erin, and Meredith. As for Jim and Pam, they have always been the “straight man” in this comedy, and the finale went out of its way to confirm the strength of their relationship.

This is not to say that the episode was free of legal issues. Ryan is going to have to answer for abandoning his baby to run off with Kelly (trading one baby for another?). Mose is looking at serious hard time for kidnapping Angela and keeping her in his trunk. Toby may be stalking Nellie. And Creed … well, it’s Creed. He’ll be fine.

And so will we. The Office is over, but there is plenty of employment law fodder out there in the world of TV and entertainment. We’ll be launching a new site soon, so stay tuned. We want to keep giving you more of what you’ve come to love.

That’s what she said.

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  Brian Kurtz