Man sues IBM over being fired for adult chat rooms
Yes, that’s right. A former employee of IBM is suing IBM for firing him for his addiction for “Adult” chat rooms. Instead of being held accountable for his own actions he says that IBM was wrong for firing him because he’s a sex addict and needs help. James Pacenza a 58 year old man of Montgomery, New York says that he developed traumatic stress in Vietnam while watching his Army buddy die in 1969. Since then the availability of the internet has prompted his entries into chat rooms which created his pathway into the “sex addiction”. Read full article here.
He also accuses IBM of age discrimination. He says that he had been there for 19 years and would have been able to retire in just one more year. However, IBM states that James was warned about his chat room behavior 4 months earlier and said he could be fired for that, but James denies the warning.
It has also been determined that IBM did not offer counseling for James’ medical condition. Whereas, other employees with drug and alcohol problems were offered counseling. IBM is trying to get a summary judgment, so we’ll have to wait and see if it ever goes to trial.
Whatever the case may be, this shows how litigious our society is. Some people are scared of what others may have the power to do so they threaten with a lawsuit. For others it’s a game of getting even for something, so again threaten with a lawsuit. In this case an employee was allegedly warned about his internet habits and the consequences that may be rendered. Weather or not he had been warned, for most of us in Greater America we are expected to work when we go to work. So being reprimanded for going to pornographic sites or chat rooms should be expected. If this guy felt that his chat habits at work were in fact directly related to his psychological illness incurred during the Vietnam war, and knew it was becoming and increasingly bigger problem why didn’t he try to get help on his own even if not offered by IBM? Why didn’t we hear of problems at home with his internet fetishes? Or is this just the beginning? If you are an employer you are paying your employee to perform their duties at work and not to surf sex sites during working hours. Maybe that’s just too logical. I do agree with one thing, without a written warning firing this guy may have been a little harsh, especially after 19 years of service. What will come next?