Do you have a clear policy on personal Internet use at work? If not, you may have a hard time firing someone for downloading objectionable content.

While performing routine computer maintenance, the IT staff at a fire department discovered that an employee had been watching “inappropriate” videos at work. They weren’t pornographic, but they were violent and contained profanity.

After an investigation, the employee was fired. He sued for wrongful termination, claiming the department never told employees they couldn’t watch Internet videos at work.

The closest thing the department had was a general ethics policy, which said employees could be fired for “malfeasance, misconduct in office, gross neglect of duty, gross immorality, or habitual drunkenness.”

The employer claimed watching inappropriate material in the workplace constituted malfeasance. But the judge didn’t buy it. He said there too many gray areas in the policy — for one thing, it never mentioned computer use. And further, some videos may seem inappropriate to some people, but not to others.

Of course, only public or union employees can sue for “wrongful termination,” but terminations based on private companies’ unclear policies can be challenged in other ways.

Especially with personal Internet use being a constant possibility at work, it’s a good idea to come up with a strong policy that lays out what’s inappropriate.

Cite: Bowman v. Butler Township

Tags: obscene content, video, wrongful termination