Summary

• Dunder Mifflin had numerous scandals that would have resulted in lawsuits or closure if the documentary had aired as a real documentary. The employees' unprofessional and terrible behavior was a reoccurring problem.
• Downsizing at Dunder Mifflin caused employees to lose their jobs, and Michael Scott's handling of the situation was less than stellar. However, he tried to boost morale with activities like a basketball game between office employees and warehouse workers.
• Jan sued Dunder Mifflin for wrongful termination due to discrimination, but ultimately lost the lawsuit. Her revenge was bankrupting Michael, leading to the end of their relationship.

Dunder Mifflin had a dark reason for why it was being filmed for a documentary. In The Office season 2, episode 8, it was revealed that one of the employees of the Scranton Dunder Mifflin office, Tom Peets comitted suicide. Peet's suicide prompted the filmmakers to investigate how the company handled Peets' mental health problems. Instead of The Office taking a dark route, the filmmakers decided that they should focus more on Michael Scott and his employees' daily lives.

If The Office had aired as a real documentary, there are some things that took place at the Scranton Dunder Mifflin office that would not have been acceptable and would have probably resulted in the company being sued or closed. While The Office is undeniably funny, the employees were often unprofessional and engaged in terrible behavior. The camera crew at Dunder Mifflin were mostly out of sight, which made it easier to portray the dynamics that happen in a workplace and how the employees relate to each other.

8 Dunder Mifflin Went Through A Downsizing Period

Devon White Was Fired From Dunder Mifflin

Like many companies, Dunder Mifflin reached a point where it had to let go of some employees because of financial reasons. When Dunder Mifflin cut employees' healthcare plans, it became clear to them that the company might be going through a downsizing period. While downsizing is normal, the way that Michael Scott handled it was less than stellar. He let go of one of Dunder Mifflin's employees, Devon White on Halloween in the typical Michael fashion. To his credit, Michael did his best to raise the employees' low morale at the downsizing news by having them engage in various activities, including a basketball game between the office employees and warehouse workers.

7 Dunder Mifflin Was Sued For Wrongful Termination

Jan Sued Dunder Mifflin For Wrongful Termination Due To Discrimination

Employees sue companies for wrongful termination whenever they believe they were let go of unfairly. Initially, Jan was supposed to have Ryan Howards' job as the Vice President of Dunder Mifflin. After Jan lost her job to Ryan, she sued Dunder Mifflin for wrongful termination. Jan defended her lawsuit by stating that she was fired due to discrimination because of her breast augmentation. If that was the case, in real life, Jan would have won the lawsuit but her relationship with Michael ended up being her downfall. Unfortunately, Jan lost the lawsuit. She instead got her revenge by bankrupting Michael, which spelled the end of their relationship.

Related: The Office: 10 Biggest Scandals On The Show

6 Dunder Mifflin's Scranton Branch Was Almost Closed

Scranton And Stamford Offices Merged

From the beginning of The Office, it was clear that the Scranton Dunder Mifflin office was not doing as well as the other branches. After the downsizing scandal at the Scranton office, one of the branches of Dunder Mifflin had to go. Between the Stamford and the Scranton office, the Stamford Dunder Mifflin branch was doing much better. The employees at the Scranton Dunder Mifflin office, including Michael, were fearful about losing their jobs. However, it's the Stamford branch that ends up closing and later merges with Scranton, which saves Michael and his team.

5 Ryan Howard Committed Fraud

Ryan Howard Lied To Dunder Mifflin Shareholders

The employees at Dunder Mifflin engaged in a variety of dubious behaviors, but none more than the company's youngest Vice President of sales, Ryan Howard. Initially, Howard was hired as a temp worker before his rise to one of the highest positions at Dunder Mifflin. However, he fell from grace after he was arrested for misleading the Dunder Mifflin shareholders. Unfortunately, that's not the only questionable behavior Howard was involved in. He experimented with drugs and his website, Dunder Mifflin Infinity, featured scammers and child predators. If this information were to be exposed, Ryan Howard would have never been employed by anyone again.

4 Michael Outed Oscar Martinez

Michael Kissed Oscar Without His Consent

Dunder Mifflin does not have a great track record when it comes to handling sensitive issues. Michael has never been the most professional manager, but outing Oscar Martinez and then later kissing without his consent was not his finest moment. The way that Michael handled Oscar's sexuality would have gotten anyone sued. Through it all, Oscar tried his best to handle Michael and Kevin's insensitive comments about his sexuality. Michael kissing Oscar without his consent led to Dunder Mifflin giving Oscar a paid vacation and company car to avoid a lawsuit that would have brought to light some of the companies' unprofessional behavior.

Related: 10 Storylines The Office US Reboot Should Revisit

3 Michael Circulated Jan's Topless Pictures

Michael Accidentally Sent Jan's Topless Photo To The Entire Shipping Warehouse Employees

There are so many things that went wrong at Dunder Mifflin, and unsurprisingly, Michael was usually involved in most of the company's scandals. After Micheal and Jan return from their vacation in Jamaica, Michael accidentally sends a racy photo of Jan to the entire shipping warehouse employees. The photo soon circulates and every employee at Dunder Mifflin sees it. While this was an accident, it was highly unprofessional, especially because Michael was Jan's boss. The circulation of Jan's racy phot was enough grounds for Michael to be fired or at least sued but he somehow survived this scandal too.

2 The Staff Of Dunder Mifflin Did Not Take Sexual Harassment Seriously

The Employees At Dunder Mifflin Took The Sexual Harassment Training As A Joke

Sexual harassment is often taken seriously in most workplaces, but that was not the case at Dunder Mifflin. Some of the employees, including Todd Packer, often made inappropriate jokes about women, which have not aged well. In an effort to combat the sexual harassment going on at the company, the employees watch a video about the right HR protocols to follow so as not to cross the line. Like everything Michael does, he turns the training into a joke instead of actually learning from it. His behavior is not only disturbing, but it sets an example of how the other male employees treat the female staff at Dunder Mifflin.

1 Michael Was A Horrible Boss

Michael Tried To Force Meredith To Go To Rehab

Throughout his time in The Office, Michael Scott was not the best manager. He engaged in various behaviors that were simply not unacceptable. He not only kissed Oscar without his consent, but he often made insensitive comments that could have had real consequences if the Dunder Mifflin documentary were real. One of his worst moments at Dunder Mifflin was when he confronted Meredith about her drinking problem in front of her co-workers. As if that were not enough, Michael tries to force Meredith into rehab without her consent. Michael might have thought that he was trying to be a good boss, but instead he often made everything worse than it was.