Lominack: Managing the Madness of March in Your Workplace

The teams have been selected, the brackets have been drawn and thegames have begun. Once again it’s time for business owners, directors,and supervisors alike to contemplate what impact the collegiate sporting world’s largest organized team tournament will have on theiroperation. 

That the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (colloquially known asMarch Madness or the Big Dance) will in some way impact everycompany, regardless of size or purpose, is virtually a given considering today’s media-saturated culture. It is how those individuals chargedwith management responsibilities prepare for and react to the madnessthat determines how severe the impact will be.

It is estimated that American businesses may collectively loseupwards of one billion dollars in worker productivity during March. This marked decline can be directly attributed to the tournament. 

For instance, employees often extend their lunch breaks to watch thethrilling conclusion of an opening round game that began at noon on aTuesday, while others leave work early to see their favorite team tipoff at 4 o’clock. Employees also lose valuable productive work timediscussing the previous day’s unbelievable buzzer beater or major upsetof the number 2 seed. With their increasing dependency on cell phones,employees also waste time checking scores and stats on their – or theiremployer’s – electronic devices.

And thanks to CBSSportsline.com, employees with internet access canwatch every single game of the tournament via live streaming video ontheir computers without ever leaving their desk. In fact, a popularfeature introduced a few years ago by the site is the boss button,which, when pressed, mutes the speaker volume and pulls up a seeminglyinnocent, work-related spreadsheet.

Another tournament-associated activity that employees frequentlybecome involved in is the traditional office pool. Even the non-sportsfans will inevitably be sucked in, as office pools are circulated andeveryone is encouraged to toss in some money and fill out a bracket.Chances are, in most office settings, at least one supervisor or manager is aware that a pool is taking place, and if he or she is notparticipating, they are probably turning a blind-eye toward theactivity. Office pools create a number of potential problems, the leastof which is lost productivity from the employees participating. 

In South Carolina, gambling is illegal. Office pools would fall intothis category. While the laws prohibiting office pools are in mostinstances unlikely to be enforced, letting employees engage in theseactivities during work time and on company property could subject anemployer to unforeseen civil liability. 

For instance, where an employer has a policy prohibiting gambling orcontrolling workplace solicitations, distributions, and computer usage,but does not enforce those policies the same in September as in March,the employee disciplined in September for violating a policy probablyhas a legitimate beef with his or her employer. This is particularlytroubling when the employee treated unfairly is a member of a classprotected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the AgeDiscrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act,or another anti-discrimination law. 

Some employers actively take steps to prevent the tournament fromdistracting workers, such as blocking internet sites, prohibitingbracket sheets in the office and punishing employees for misusing worktime. At the other end of the spectrum are those employers who activelyembrace and encourage worker excitement over the tournament under theguise of building morale and camaraderie among the staff. Theseemployers may set up televisions in the break room or a conference room, and they may even run a low-stakes office pool. Most employers, onemight expect, fall somewhere in between. 

The majority of the American workforce will no doubt be captivated in one way or another by this epic sporting event. Unless you are CBS,however, the impact of this euphoria is not likely to be positive foryour business. Employers should recognize this fact, evaluate their ownpractices and policies, and determine well in advance how they plan totame the madness.

Reyburn Lominack is an attorney with the Columbia office ofFisher & Phillips LLP, one of the largest U.S. law firms toconcentrate its practice exclusively upon representation of employers in labor and employment matters. Founded in 1943, the firm has more than275 attorneys in 29 offices. Lominack can be reached at (803) 255-0000or [email protected].