Judge: Websurfing Worker Can't be Fired

Posted on April 28, 2006

A judge has sided with Toquir Choudhri, a Department of Education worker who was fired for playing solitaire on his work computer and visiting websites. In his ruling, Judge John Spooner compared using the computer and websurfing to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone. The judge said a reprimand is an appropriate punishment. The ruling comes after Mayor Bloomberg fired a worker after he saw the man playing a game of solitaire on his computer.

Spooner wrote in his decision, "It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work."

Spooner also says, "For this reason, city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance. Many agencies apply the same standard to the use of the Internet for personal purposes."

CNET notes that Choudhri did receive a letter from Judge Spooner that will go in his file. It is a reprimand letter.

While this sounds like good news for web surfing office workers but you should still be very careful about how often you use the Internet and what websites you visit. Many offices track their employees Internet usage. There is also the issue of promotions -- you don't want to be thought of as a lazy web surfing, solitaire playing employee by your supervisors.