Porn Chatter 'Claims' Addiction - Sues IBM for $5 MIL (for wrongful termination)

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Porn Chatter "Claims" Addiction
Sues IBM (for $5 MIL wrongful termination)
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Virtually Addicted

A lawsuit against IBM is reviving debate over whether Web overuse may be classified as an addiction. The answer will have big implications for business

by Catherine Holahan
businessweek.com Technology
December 14, 2006

By his own admission, James Pacenza was spending too much time in Internet chat rooms, in some of them discussing sex. He goes so far as to call his interest in inappropriate Web sites a form of addiction that stems from the posttraumatic stress disorder he's suffered since returning from Vietnam. Whatever it's called, Pacenza's chat-room habit cost him his job.

After 19 years at IBM's East Fishkill plant, Pacenza was fired in May, 2003, after a fellow employee noticed discussion of a sex act on a chat room open on Pacenza's computer. IBM (IBM) maintains that logging onto the Web site was a violation of its business conduct guidelines and a misuse of company property - and that it was well within its rights to terminate Pacenza's employment.

Pacenza and his attorney beg to differ. They filed suit in a New York U.S. District Court in July, 2004, seeking $5 million for wrongful termination. Earlier in the year, Pacenza had admitted to a superior that he had a problem with the Internet at home.

Pacenza's attorney, Michael Diederich Jr., alleges that the perception that Pacenza was addicted to the Internet caused IBM to fire first without asking questions or "even attempting to examine the situation." Diederich says there are several steps IBM could have taken, including limiting his Internet use or blocking certain sites. "It's not productive or useful for the employer to unfairly terminate employees," says Diederich.

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Yeah, right.

It's not his fault, it's his IT dept's.

 

I must have been to Vietnam

 

Employers do have the right to fire employees. They do it all the time with not much ballyhoo if they use the magic word "downsizing". However, people that claim they have an addiction should be given a chance to repent and clean up their act. Usually, an employer would allow an alchoholic/drug addict, to undergo de-toxification, during a temporary suspension and when the program is complete, a certificate is issued which then becomes part of the employee's record, but enables him/her to resume employment. The addiction-specific documents that the employee signs are then used as a legal contract which the employer will use to assure alchohol-free employment. Unfair dimissal tribunals love this document, because it is a contract that spells out, the exact reason for dismissal. All the big companies have this sort of program in place, so I suppose our friend "James" is trying it on for size. Otherwise, he's SOL.
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