I honestly hope that this case is thrown out of court as if it is successful it means that any employee fired for gross misconduct could potentially sue for damages claiming a psychological problem.
A man in the US is suing IBM for $5m (?2.5m) in a wrongful dismissal case after he was fired for visiting adult internet chat rooms while at work.
James Pacenza, 58, says he was addicted to online chat rooms and that IBM should have offered him sympathy and treatment instead of firing him.
The Vietnam War veteran says he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since 1969.
He argues that he used the internet to control his psychological problems.
'Self-medicating'
Mr Pacenza says that seeing his best friend killed in action while they were on patrol in Vietnam in 1969 brought on his post-traumatic stress disorder.
He says that his psychological problems have left him addicted to sex, especially adult internet chat rooms.
Errr question, how does seeing your best friend killed in action lead to a virtual sex addiction?
When a fellow employee at IBM told managers that Mr Pacenza was visiting such sites while at work, he was fired.
The stated reason was that he visited an internet chat site for a sexual experience after he had previously been warned.
James Pacenza's lawyers will argue in court that their client was using the internet to self-medicate as a way of controlling his post traumatic stress disorder.
They will also argue that Mr Pacenza's claimed addiction to adult internet sites should be treated in the same way as other employees' addictions to drugs or alcohol.
The case, which has been postponed until 29 June, has potential implications for employers across America and their attitude towards regulating how employees use workplace computers.
Does this guy seriously think that he should have been given sympathy instead of the sack and that this 'addiction' should have been treated in the same way as a drug or alcohol addiction. Somehow I cant see a drug addict being allowed to work for GlaxxoSmithkline or an alcoholic being allowed to work for a distillery if they have already been warned for misconduct relating to their addictions.
