The Weird Workplace

Prank misses the mark

DETROIT — Here’s a guy who won’t be taking home ‘boss of the year’ honours. Justin Orman, 24, was instructed by his boss at Interstate Battery System, Chris Gelineau, to pick up inventory at an auto parts store. When Orman arrived, he was lured into the lobby where two men in hoodies pointed a gun at him, threw him against the wall and told him to "turn over anything of value or (he) would be shot," according to the Detroit Free Press. After 10 minutes of terror, the assailants fled the store without stealing anything and staff told Orman they would call police. A shaken Orman returned to his job at Interstate only to find out, hours later — after being strung along by his boss — it was a joke allegedly orchestrated by Gelineau. The prank left Orman with post-traumatic stress disorder, extreme mental anguish and he has attempted suicide three times, according to a lawsuit filed by Orman. An employer spokesperson said it was taking the allegations seriously, saying "the behaviour as alleged in the lawsuit is inconsistent with our values."

Rejection just so irresistible

VANCOUVER — Are sales down at your retail locations? Are customers not returning to the store? It may be because your staff are just too friendly and helpful, according to research out of the University of British Columbia. Marketing professor Darren Dahl found that high-end luxury stores such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Gucci can get away with poor customer service, according to the CBC. "Rejection by a brand increases consumers’ desire to affiliate with it, and they do so by increasing their willingness to purchase, pay for and wear or display items from the rejecting brand," said the research paper, slated to be published later this year. But stores without high-end name-brand cache, such as Target, Gap and H&M, won’t be able to get away with the same kind of snobbery.

Give me an ‘L’ – for lawsuit

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Five former cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills have filed a lawsuit against the NFL club. Among the litany of claims is that cheerleaders were subjected to a "jiggle test" to ensure they were fit, according to the Buffalo News. Maria P., one of the plaintiffs, said the test was just one of the indignities the women faced while working as Buffalo Jills. She also alleges they were not paid for all the hours worked, logging up to 840 hours of unpaid time per year, and the cheerleaders were harassed and touched inappropriately at community events — at the annual Jills golf tournament, they were required to wear bikinis and sit in a dunk tank. They were also auctioned off as prizes to ride around with the golfers. "I signed up to be a cheerleader, not whatever you want to call that," she told the News. The lawsuit points out that the highest-paid Buffalo Bill earns US$16 million per year while the cheerleaders are paid less than minimum wage. Cheerleaders were paid anywhere from US$105 to US$1,800 for the season, according to the lawsuit, which is also seeking to have the cheerleaders declared employees, not independent contractors.

Nature, wildlife and… WiFi?

OTTAWA — Unplugging from work is about to get even harder. Parks Canada is looking to install WiFi at up to 50 parks this year, according to the Canadian Press. And it isn’t stopping there — that number could triple over the next three years. Some provincial parks across the country already offer wireless Internet. The upside? Your next selfie in Banff may just feature a black bear backdrop.