Hostile Work Environment Claims in the Computer Age
At places of employment, pornography is legal poison. A singular lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department illuminates the need for technical filters and blocks to combat e-porn.
In a "hostile workplace" lawsuit against an employer, the existence of porn on work computers or in work e-mail systems can be highly prejudicial. Even though the employer objected to porn and enforced a policy of no tolerance for it, its presence can reflect horribly on the employer as a case advances to a public courtroom.
In Williams v. City of Chicago (US Dist Ct, N.D. Illinois, E Div 03C2994, Jul 13, 2004), e-pornography backed the police department into an indefensible corner. The plaintiff, Officer Williams, had complained more than once about a sexually offensive work environment, including both repulsive remarks by co-workers and disgusting pictures on computers (e-mail and otherwise). Continue Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment