RSSFormer IBM Worker Sues Over Internet Addiction
By Ed Oswald | Published February 19, 2007, 2:21 PM
An IBM employee who was dismissed by the company for visiting an adult-themed chat room while at work has decided to sue the company for $5 million. He claims he has become addicted to the Internet.
James Pacenza says his problems began after his stint in Vietnam in 1969. After his tour he developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and he frequented chat rooms to seek help for his condition.
Pacenza says the stress led him to a sex addition, and when the Internet became popular he began to develop an addiction to the Internet. However, his lawyers claim he never visited any pornographic Web sites while at work, and the firing was more about his age than the actual offense.
With the company for 19 years and 55 at the time of the incident, Pacenza would have been eligible for retirement in one year. IBM disputes this claim, saying the termination was for visiting sexual Web sites and had nothing to do with his age.
IBM testifies that it had warned Pacenza about his browsing habits and was only terminated after he was caught visiting "an Internet chat room for a sexual experience." It is seeking to have the case dismissed.
A fellow employee had spotted that Pacenza was in the chat room after he left his workstation without logging off. He was fired the next day, but is arguing that the move was too extreme.
Even stranger is Pacenza's defense, saying IBM had a lax policy on discipline for other offenses. Those with drug or alcohol problems are offered counseling. No mental health programs are offered IBM, and Pacenza says he was denied the right to appeal his dismissal.
IBM has declined to comment on the case.
Hard to call on the little info.
However, I would of thought a company like IBM would have internet filtering running for their employee's if they were truly concerned about misuse of internet in the work place.
The company may have a policy in place for misuse but what determins misuse??
If the guy is on his lunch break and is lonely and trying to find a partner on a chat room is this scenario such a bad thing? If this same person was in an internet cafe would he be kicked out of that cafe for "Misuse" of the internet.
As for the Co-Working stating they saw it on his screen when he was away from the PC, then wouldn't this indicate A.Security issue. B. Privacy issue?
Any co-working you do not get along with can easily make up stories.
With out the full run down of the situation from both sides its very hard to judge.
P.S. Hey, arn't we ALL addicted to the internet?
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|well depends on the company, but i know here, anything not work related can be considered misuse, but we really dont crack down on employees for personal email and stuff. but chat rooms and the like will get them written up. because they have no NEED to be there period. if they want to do it, they can do it at home, or the local library. we arent responsable to provide personal internet access. Sounds more to me like he is looking for an excuse to get those retirement benefits. come on, internet addiction? that led you to chatrooms at work? and if he was warned.... i find it hard to believe that IBM, as big as it is, would fire one person to save money by keeping him from retiring. i mean how much does IBM make a year in profits?
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|I've read this story on a couple news sites and from what i can tell he was warned about 4 months earlier about going to these sites.
Plus after having cyber sex in the chat room he took an unauthorised break where do you think he went probaly jerking in the bathroom on company time so of course he was sacked.
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|This just proves that some people are just overpaid for what they do (or should be doing). These people likes to take advantage of their free time at work and they all deserves to be fired. I believe IBM can countersue him for not working (when he should be) and wasting company time and money.
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|I work for them. They will fire you for sneezing if your over 50. He may have been caught or maybe not but even if he wasn't they still would have done the same thing and called it something else like a Reduction In Workforce or reclassify him as too high in salary for his work. There are numerous suits for age discrimination aimed at IBM so don't be quick to throw stones. If a company wants to reduce post work benefits being paid out they get you before your eligible to retire so you lose everything.
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|well technically i dont think they even have to offer a retirement plan. if thats the case though its sad, but visiting a sex chat room on the job sounds alot more severe than sneezing.
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|They should counter-sue him for everything he owns.
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|You're American, aren't you.
What a happy place we live in.
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|God bless America :-)
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|This is the trend that's going on in corporate America. They don't want to pay the pensions for all these loyal workers. I know a bunch of people who were fired from Bank of America for the same reason, or "excessive" use of internet. Many of them are with the bank for over 20 years, and few with over 30 years. And yet, this is the reward for loyalty. I am wondering how could the people who come up with this idea able to sleep at night.
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|Yup, not to mention a violation of internal policy which employees can evidently ignore...
If it is policy and the knowledge of such is presented properly insuring employee awareness, your case sorta goes down the ol' crapper.
If the policy is not well formed and the employees are not made aware and do not verify their awareness (as any good policy requires) then an only then do they have a case.
I guess that it is also unreasonable for such experienced employees to know policy as well?
Why do I have the feeling that neither group of employees, whom I suspect have indeed violated policy, will win?
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|what good reason do they have to be buggering around on the internet anyway? why are they using their works resources for personnal use anyway? they should be working. and internet bandwidth does cost money you know, so it should be available for those actually doing work, not those on their break who want to putz around on the net.
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|When did I ever mentioned that they were wandering in the internet all day? Listen, we are surf the web during work. It's unrealistic that employers expect we are robots with no emotions or needs during our work day.
I didn't mentioned that the company is going to outsourced that whole department to India. And that's why there is the massive layoff. They put it as company violation, with no warning or whatsoever. Everyone are doing it, but they are the one who is out the door. And like I said, a lot of them are with the company for over 20 years.
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|before there was internet people didnt waste so much time during the day, why should it be any different just because the internet is there? technically, employers CAN legally expect their workers to not waste time on the internet, the fact that they allow them to use it every now and then should not be mistaken as a right for employees to screw around on the net, even for 5 minutes. Internet access at work is a privelage not a right.
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|We waste more time on retarded lawsuits than just about anything else in the world.
The judge should throw his a** out of court and tell him to quit wasting money that people could use to eat in another country.....or how about in this country?
Big Dummies....
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|people in this country should get a job and stop having kids they cant support. as far as i know Mcdonalds has been hiring constantly for the last 30 years... if you dont have a job i dont think flipping burgers is beneath your dignity.
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|ok. so let me get this strait. went to vietnam got stress dissorder began surfin chat rooms and claims hes addicted to the internet. and got fired for lookin at porn(which to me shouldnt have waranted firing after 19 years with no appeal).
SO.....idk. this guy is a wierdo to say the least. but we will see what happens.
honestly u dont lose a job u have had for 19 years for a little porn.
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|You lose it for not following policy.
You obviously have not had a job where policies exist.
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|where are you from? technically that kind of stuff could bring all kinds of lawsuits on the company if other employees saw him doing it. or even if they didn't. firing him is a way to prevent that, and is perfectly legal.
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|This is such a funny story that it reminded me of the 2003 documentary called Super Size Me.
What a waste of money in legal fees.
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|Ummmmm. This news broke like over a month ago. Is it a slow news day? The dude was fired in 2003 and the law suit was filed in 2004... I mean I realize that it is BIG news and being posted all over the place...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16212370/
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|*YAWN*
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|"individual responsibility"
Now there is an oxymoron!
I couldn't help myself, I am a victim.
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|lol...hey if you can sue tobacco companies and fast food restaurants...you can sue anybody.
So we have thieves who blame people for having things the thieves want to steal. Next up we will have pedophiles and nambla seeking justice because children are children and they are hopeless...lol (bastages).
Sad state of affairs...the world relies less and less on the merits of the individual responsibilities as we go on.
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|Does it have no end?????????
"his problems began after his stint in Vietnam in 1969. After his tour he developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and he frequented chat rooms to seek help for his condition."
This should get interesting! Chat rooms in say, 1970?
Al Gore is going to be just a bit miffed when he hears (on his private jet as he hops about the globe decrying the carbon footprint of individuals) that someone else was frequenting chat rooms back then before he invented the Internet!
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|so what your saying, is he had a mental condition, and possibly wasnt fit for working? or is he just seeking a dumb excuse?
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|Give me a fricken break. This idiot should be in jail for such a stupid lawsuit. IBM should thoroughly search his pc from work. I'm sure they could find some child porn or something so this sicko get be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
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