General Discussions

**ADAM Web Design** · 02-18-2007, 09:35 PM

Apparently, this guy thinks it is!

http://www.newsday.com/technology/wi...logy-headlines

Some people will sue for ANYTHING.

**ForrestCroce** · 02-18-2007, 11:29 PM

Wow. I can't believe the guy thought he had a case? Everybody knows you just don't do that. It's common sense that porn in the workplace means sexual harassment lawsuits. ( Not to mention they weren't paying him to look at porn, or that the Internet isn't a physical substance people get addicted to. )

**mastermemei** · 02-19-2007, 07:02 AM

Yeah, that was weird actually. If he was just making up his trauma story as an excuse, that was creative

But too bad that his career had to end that way

**warlock** · 02-19-2007, 12:23 PM

He just should have waited till he hot home

**joder** · 02-19-2007, 12:26 PM

There are people with disabilities, but this guy is not one of them. What if someone is an alcoholic. Would it then be okay to drink at work? Adult chat rooms talk about sex. It's not just pictures that are wrong in the workplace.

**princess06** · 02-19-2007, 01:19 PM

of course it is not okay. you are at the office to work and not for any other reason

**aldor** · 02-19-2007, 02:52 PM

Bearing in mind the length of service this guy had given to IBM, and the fact that he only had twelve months to go before he could take retirement it seems that IBM were a bit heavy handed.
I do not want you to think I approve of his action, he should have had more sense but a less drastic action could have been taken by IBM. Did they consider a suspension followed by a final written warning? Then post a warning to all staff that this behaviour would not be tolerated in future.
All in all I think this a very sad case that somebody of his age should see his career end in this way.

**Adam Fletcher** · 02-19-2007, 03:21 PM

He shouldn't have done it so he deserved to be sacked.

This is a simular thing from a local area near me
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.u...ool_laptop.php

**DaveMo~** · 02-19-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aldor

Bearing in mind the length of service this guy had given to IBM, and the fact that he only had twelve months to go before he could take retirement it seems that IBM were a bit heavy handed.
I do not want you to think I approve of his action, he should have had more sense but a less drastic action could have been taken by IBM. Did they consider a suspension followed by a final written warning? Then post a warning to all staff that this behaviour would not be tolerated in future.
All in all I think this a very sad case that somebody of his age should see his career end in this way.

He could have retired in a year, but might not have. However, I agree with your sentiments that IBM may have been heavy-handed. What ever happened to corrective action before termination?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Fletcher

He shouldn't have done it so he deserved to be sacked.

If this was a first time indiscretion, then that is harsh. The only similarity with Adam's link is that both got fired. In that last link, this guy had hundreds of porn pics on the school's laptop. This is an entirely different situation.

BTW, I in no way condone adult chat rooms, but I definitely don't condone "goofing off" while at work. The employer pays wages for work, not for play.

Dave

**ADAM Web Design** · 02-19-2007, 07:05 PM

I tend to respectfully disagree with the "bit harsh" comments for four reasons:

1) IBM says he was warned about similar behaviour previously.

2) Even if he wasn't warned, it's not like he was going somewhere that COULD be potentially offensive. He went into an ADULT chat room. That means they're going to talk about ADULT topics (translation: sex.) And in the court documents, he openly acknowledged going in there for that specific reason. There's no grey area here at all.

3) Anyone who has ever had any dealings with IBM knows that they tend to "hire to fire." The longer you work there, the more your head is on the chopping block. The last thing you should be doing is giving them any excuse to even potentially fire you.

4) The guy is suing for $5 million. He was one year away from retirement. Let's see...1 year x $65,000 = ... a lot less than $5 million, doesn't it? Even with golden handshakes and retirement benefits and stuff, it won't get even close to the $5 mill mark. This guy's just cash-grabbing.

No sympathy here at all.