A self-confessed 'sex addict' is suing a computer giant for millions of dollars in a wrongful dismissal case after he was fired for visiting adult internet chat rooms while at work in America.
James Pacenza, 58, says he was a compulsive visitor to online chat rooms because of a medical problem 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. 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.
When a fellow employee at IBM told managers that Mr Pacenza was visiting such sites while at work, he was sacked.
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, as part of his $5 compensation claim, 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 has potential implications for employers throughout the world and their attitude towards regulating how their employees use workplace computers.
James Pacenza, 58, says he was a compulsive visitor to online chat rooms because of a medical problem 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. 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.
When a fellow employee at IBM told managers that Mr Pacenza was visiting such sites while at work, he was sacked.
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, as part of his $5 compensation claim, 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 has potential implications for employers throughout the world and their attitude towards regulating how their employees use workplace computers.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
latest comments