Man sues after being fired for browsing porn at work.

[mb*]

If Internet porn is your "self medication," think of this pink slip as cognitive behavioral therapy

To IBM, James Pacenza's penchant for surfing sex sites and hanging out in chat rooms during work hours was grounds for termination. To Pacenza it was a cry for help unanswered. Which is why he's suing the company for wrongful termination (http://www.informationweek.com/internet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=194500201). In court papers filed in the U.S. District Court for New York, Pacenza claims his chat room addiction is a form of "self medication" for the post-traumatic stress disorder from which he suffers and says IBM should have offered him counseling instead of sacking him. Employees "with much more severe psychological problems, in the form of drug or alcohol problems ... are allowed treatment programs" at IBM, Pacenza argues in his suit. He's demanding more than $5 million in punitive and compensatory damages from IBM for its indiscretion, which presumably would allow him to "self medicate" for some time to come without worrying about employer intrusions.

[Venus]

I wonder if this suit will work. It is known that sex for some is an addiciton like drugs or alcohol.

[sws4420]

It's not up to the company to get him help. It's up to the company to provide their end of his employment agreement. He works for them and makes them money, they give him a paycheck. Once one of the parties stops doing what they're supposed to, the agreement needs to be adjusted. And it was. I think it was completely fair and a learning experience for the little pervert.

[Bob]

I understand they are a computer company but how about restricting access to sex sites and chatrooms.

[MedicCook]

The fact that they do offer any assistance for the other addiction's should not have anythign to do with it. They don't need to offer assitance for those addictions and maybe they should not do it anymore. People who look at flagarent porn while working should understand that they may be taking their job's in their own hands. You want to look at porn, wait until you get home.

[sws4420]

Plus a pornographic addiction is sort of hard to prove, I'd think. One can be a pervert and still be very good at their job, as seen by my existance. However, if I was another type of addict, say alcohol or crack, I'd NEED help to beat that sort of addiction because it's actually a chemical dependency. There's other ways to make yourself feel good than just watching porn.

[MedicCook]

You may need help but it is not your employer's responsibility to give it to you. I think it is a great thing for an employer to assist with those types of services, but they should never be mandated to provide it.

[sws4420]

Before I worked here, I wasn't even sure if any employers had programs provided to the employee to help with things like chemical dependency and other issues, therefore I never expected it and knew I was on my own to get help for whatever issues I needed resolved.

[MedicCook]

Now if your job is a beer taster and you become and alcoholic, then I definately think your boss should pay for your treatment. :burp:

[sws4420]

:cheers:

Edit: I might have it on here somewhere, but a phone sex operator won a lawsuit against her boss for her having carpal tunnel from all the action she performed on her end of the line during working hours. :rotflmao:

[MedicCook]

If I was a juror on that case I would want to see the job description. Does it state she must actually perform on her end or just make the customer think she is.

[MERV]

Just because your employer has a program to help you "beat" and addiction, doesn't mean the Ex employee has a right to sue. Did said employee state the need for help? Did the Employee try to go to support groups, or those nutt job doctors out there? Did the employee do everything in thier power to try to "Beat" this so called addiction? Did the employer refuse to help them, even after they had a plan in place? Did the Employee refuse help after they had offered it to him?

[sws4420]

Exactly. It's not up to the IT department to diagnose porn addiction.