Seattle Times Article

A man in White Plains, NY is suing IBM for $5 million dollars after he was terminated for accessing an adult chat room while at work. He is arguing that he was wrongfully terminated for his internet addiction, and that he should have been instead offered treatment and compassion for his addiction. He has worked for IBM for approximately thirty years.

Issue #1
Should internet addiction be considered a disability?

Issue #1-A
If internet addiction should be considered a disability, was IBM nonetheless justified in his termination?

Wow!! Yet another way for people to place blame on something else instead of taking responsibility for their own actions. Trial lawyers are such a wonderful thing

Should internet addiction be considered a disability?

Yeah. As soon as watching too much TV is considered a disability as well.

Couldn't agree more. This type of behavious is clearly spelled out in the business conduct guidelines. In fact, I think I have been harmed by our culture's lack of responsibility, and I would like to sue this gentleman for contributing to it. Want to join me? How much should we sue for? I guessing....$5 million, plus punitive damages.



I believe that has already been done. You know, it's pretty amazing how well off we must be as a society to even have time and energy to contemplate all the things that are considered addictions and disabilities nowadays. As a comedian (Sam Kineson?) once said, on the same topic--you think there are any lactose intolerant people in Ethiopia? They're just glad to have food. Society has to be extremely well off to even begin to go down the path we're going down. Only if the vast majority of people are doing ok do such things even start to come up.

I am still waiting for the day when we initiate a class action lawsuit against all lawyers for the cost of frivolous lawsuits to our society. When you add up all the expenses companies go to to avoid them, the cost of all their legal staff, the associated price increases to us, etc. etc. -- it is many billions of dollars, I'm sure. I'd like to see the suit, even if it didn't win...might help change our culture.

I'm with you on that lawsuit Hobbes. It seems that society is looking for new ways to place blame at the feet of others or other things.

I am surprised more are not outraged by this lawsuit. It could be they are waiting for marching orders from their ideological leaders to see which side they fall on.

I have no doubt that there is such a thing as sex addiction which can lead to inappropriate behavior in the workplace and on the internet, but I don’t think that it should be used as an excuse to ignore office policies…just like I don’t think that employers should have to continuously coddle people who are dealing with alcohol and drug abuse (which can be quite uncontrollable and debilitating.)

There are many employers, particularly those with unions, who offer assistance before termination in cases like alcohol abuse, but I don’t feel that it should be an employer’s responsibility to keep a person from falling down. It should be a choice based on what the person has given the employer in the past and whether or not they feel that the person can be rehabilitated and continue to offer a valuable service to the company.

It may sound harsh, but sometimes people need to crash and experience some pretty negative ramifications before they’re actually willing to take steps to treat or change their own behaviors.

I definately agree with your stance about it being an addiction, but for him call his addiction a disability and sue IBM simply amazes me.

Should internet addiction be considered a disability?

In so many words, no. This is as ridiculous a case as I have ever seen one where people no longer take responsibility for their own actions. Some on these boards know my feelings of addiction and that plays an important role in my beliefs on this particular subject. We have to stop the culture in this country that attempting to subsidize stupidity. People are responsible for what they do just as this man is responsible for violating the rules of his job.

I can't say that it amazes me since we have so many litigation happy people in this country, but I do think that it's rather stupid especially considering that this guy is saying that his addiction is directly related to things that happened during the Vietnam war...and he's worked for IBM for 30 years. Seems like an ample amount of time to take some steps towards dealing with his addiction.

Of course, maybe he has, and we just don't have that information, but I certainly can't fault IBM for not wanting to deal with his behaviors. He's using their resources to further his own addiction, and that's just not a good thing. It's like the alcoholic employee of a liquor store who's imbibing in the back room. It's probably best that he doesn't continue to work there. IBM may have done this guy a favor...or not. I don't really know. Either way, it's not IBM's responsibility.

Does anyone know if Vietnam Veterans have mental health resources available to them as a part of their military benefits package? Just curious.

Editing to fix my spelling...

[quote name='Cyan' date='Feb 19 2007, 04:50 PM' post='207995']
[quote]
Does anyone know if Vietnam Veterans have mental health resources available to them as a part of their military benefits package? Just curious.
[/quote]

To the best of my knowledge they actually do.

1. No. But I'm sure that a large group of ambulance chasing John Edwards wanna-bees certainly want to create such a "disability". People who are blind, deaf, are missing limbs, or who must be transported in a wheelchair are "disabled". Those with a bad habit and the inability to follow company guidelines are not "disabled", they are "foolish", "irresponsible", and "immature". Saying internet "addiction" is a disability is like saying picking one's nose in public is a disability. It's absurd.

2. Yes. They warned that loser that visiting those sites would result in his termination and he didn't listen. I don't feel sorry for the likes of him. He should look on the bright side, now that he's out of work and on unemployment, he can sit on his butt all day long and cruise the net endlessly. Who knows, he may even join A-D??