The NCAA Men’s and
Women’s Basketball Tournaments start this week. While these exciting college
sports events bring exciting comebacks, underdog wins, and pride in employee
alma maters, they also can usher in several weeks of reduced productivity,
potentially contentious employee interactions, and – believe it or not - legal
risk.
In 2016, 70
million tournament brackets were completed, many of which involved office
pools. The first round of March Madness reportedly costs employers an estimated
$4
billion in lost productivity. As part of this decreased productivity, employers
may experience an up-tick in absences and the live-streaming of games on
employer technology that can detract from work time and create a serious technology
lag for legitimate business applications. For example, it’s being reported that
perhaps as many as 12
percent of employees will watch a basketball game during a work meeting
this month.
To address these
issues proactively, employers should consider reminding employees of their
policies and procedures regarding attendance, performance, and technology usage.
If an employer has an anti-gambling policy, it should also publicize and consistently
enforce that policy. Supervisors can also address employees’ lack of
productivity or absences on an individualized basis as needed. Above all,
employers should uniformly apply whatever workplace policies they have in
place.
Employers should
also be vigilant about possible workplace conflict that could erupt, for
example between Hoosiers and Wildcats or Blue Devils and Jayhawks fans. The
surge of collegiate pride can turn into workplace tension, particularly if the
employees are part of a March Madness bracket. Additionally, employees who do
not get swept away with “tournament fever” may feel left out and excluded from
social activities with colleagues during this month, and as a result conflicts
may increase. Fortunately, most workplace conflicts don’t involve violence, but
employers should have clear workplace safety and conflict resolution procedures
that are clearly communicated to employees and followed by supervisors.
Finally, employers
should be cautious before establishing any official workplace pool. Laws in most
states, including Minnesota, prohibit sports betting and certain types of
workplace brackets. In Minnesota, for example, any “bet” is illegal unless it
qualifies for a specific exception. “Private social bets” are one such
exception, but certain tournament brackets do not qualify for that exception. For
instance, the owner of the location holding such a bet (like an employer)
cannot derive any profit from the wager, cannot organize regular occasions for
the bets, or advertise their occurrence. This would seem to rule out many
employer-sponsored basketball brackets. Furthermore, tournament brackets are illegal
if an entry fee is required. While it remains uncertain whether the Minnesota Department
of Public Safety would take much interest in an employer-sponsored tournament
bracket, employers should be aware of the law and act accordingly.
As in the world of
basketball, March brings many close calls for employers as well. Employers
should consult legal counsel if they have any questions regarding March Madness
or other employee issues.
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