Comments on: Company sued for firing obscene Web browser

By: The Top 10 Stories of 2009! | DocuCrunch.com

The Top 10 Stories of 2009! | DocuCrunch.com — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:34:40 +0000

[...] Company sued for firing obscene Web browser [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:05:11 +0000

Hey Gary, that is ridiculous to hear that your company has a “highly valued employee, who would be very difficult to replace” getting away scot free with what he is doing. If what you say is definitely true, and beyond proof, then hat guy needs to be severely disciplined, even if it meant he might leave because of it. If it was me, I would not hesitate to fire him immediately, for being so dishonest.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:32:00 +0000

I’m an IT guy. I’ve had users who opened emails that seemed legit, but contained a worm that started hitting porn sites. I’ve also had users who performed a legitimate search on Google, clicked a link to a promising website only to be automatically redirected to a porn site and then dozens of browser windows started popping up going to other porn sites. We also have an issue with an employee who likes to covertly watch other people log into their computers, so he can get their passwords. He then comes into the office after hours or on weekends and uses the stolen credentials to login and do a little Internet gaming without fear of getting in trouble. What if he also decides to look at some porn? This guy is a highly valued employee who would be very difficult to replace. He gets away with pretty much anything and the boss doesn’t want to hear about him logging in as other people. Our employer’s policy on visiting porn sites at work is fire at will. What if our employer decided to fire people based on network logs? What if they decided to fire people whose credentials were “shared” unknowingly with the cred-thief/gamer? How can any employer legitimately fire any employee for violating these policies without someone witnessing the violation? I’m strongly in favor of a 2 or 3 strike policy. If you get warned for something you didn’t do, then you at least know to watch your back.

By: Docucrunch.Com Â» Blog Archive Â» Company Sued For Firing Obscene … « DIY Projects

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:46:03 +0000

[...] I agree with Robert Dupuy . Give the guy a warning and a stern talking to, pointing out that if he does it again he will be immediately dismissed. And make sure every other employee is a fully aware of the situation, and what happened. …Page 2 [...]

By: Other

Other — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:26:21 +0000

Slacking off by looking at porn is just as bad as slacking off using MySpace. The fact more than one person is obviously using the system inappropriately means more than one person should have been fired. That’s what I feel the lawsuit is based upon.

If you are going to enforce the policies, do so equally, including management.

If you go and conduct a proper and full security search, and start firing all of the employees who have done exactly what the rules state in the employee handbook, you’ll find about 30-50% smaller workforce at a minimum. My biggest abusers have been Executives, not the worker bees.

Now, do you risk your job reporting it, or do you “shut up and color?”

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:26:17 +0000

I would put the onus on the employer to prove that the password had been shared. I manage the security for my employer and we use two factor authentication. You have to have your employee badge and a password to logon to a PC after you have badge through a door. It makes it much harder for an employee to claim someone else used their password as they would also have to have their badge.

By: Hudson

Hudson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:52:19 +0000

Be an adult.
If company policy is to not share user information and that each user is responsible for actions taken with his log-in and specific sites (or types of sited) are prohibited – then choosing to violate policy is a choice to accept whatever the company consequences are.
If inappropriate sites were accessed then policy was violated.
If user information was shared then policy was violated.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of rules are rules.
If you can’t follow the rules with simple things, then how can you be trusted in an area that could harm or kill someone?
Accept resposibility for the choices you make.

By: Bee

Bee — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:39:34 +0000

And when someone forgets to log out after their shift, then what?
What if the password was cracked? If there are logins when he was not on-site, where was their security to prevent it? Most LDAP tools can set login timeframes.

By: 2kmaro of dslreports

2kmaro of dslreports — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:11:20 +0000

I see numerous problems here: #1, the oil field operator did not hire an attorney saavy in the ways of computers.
#2 – It’s hard to believe that the company has a “1 strike and you’re out” policy on this kind of thing. As another observed, allowing the userid/password to get out would be a more severe issue in my book than downloading some nudies or visiting adult sites. But with 200 hundred people using the same machine in a BREAK ROOM??, surely his lawyer could cast some kind of reasonable doubt. Besides, it was in a break room, what are these people supposed to look at while on break? Company profit and loss statements for the last 99 quarters? The Disney Channel on line? Get real.
#3 – As yet another person noted: if the company has a policy against visiting certain sites, then they should make an effort to restrict all computers on the network from visiting those sites. Anyone in their IT department so much as ever heard of a locally stored HOSTS file? If the computer was not part of such a restricted network, I’d be tempted to say “the rules don’t apply, the computer was outside of the area of control and thus not affected by company policy”.
#4 – Age discrimination? Possbily, but most likely not, unless of course by firing this guy the company managed to save a lot of $$ by cutting him off from company paid retirement benefits.

By: Wil

Wil — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:16:05 +0000

While I have no problem giving the guy a warning, I also feel that the company can terminate anyone if it finds a violation from any employee. This is what an employee manual is for. You read it and you follow the rules and guidelines. Haven’t we heard enough in the news that people get in trouble for surfing porn at work? Is he too stupid to think it won’t happen to him?