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Kevin Roderick of L.A. Observed, apparently suffering massive geographic disorientation, today passes on a memo from The New York Times Co. mandating that its employees learn to be more ethical. (Also required: Closing all barn doors at least two years after the horse is gone.)

I am sending this e-mail message to you and all employees with Company e-mail addresses to remind you about The New York Times Company's Ethics & Compliance Resource Center. As of today, you have not started or completed the Business Ethics training. All employees are required to complete the training no later than August 15. This means you need to go through the Introduction, Sections 1., 2., and 3. and take the quiz.

But the Guild at the paper is not amused, as its reply memo demonstrated. Yeah, the union got the company to make the policy "as permissive as possible." And, true, the company has agreed that incorrect answers on the quiz won't be held against employees. Still, Guild leadership has some concerns and would prefer folks not take the training yet. If you can't avoid it, there's one last thing to remember:

[T]he company has said it will not authorize overtime to take the course — so the Guild strongly suggests that you do it during your normal workday.

Ah, the unionized life.

Unlikely Champions of the Convicted [L.A. Observed]