Will Internet addiction become a protected disability?
Filed under: Employee computer use, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Security and law
Right now, employees who can’t pry themselves away from Web sites or e-mail have no legal protection – but some signs say that things might change.
The issue is currently being tested in a few high profile court cases. In one case, a former IBM employee filed a $5 million lawsuit after he was fired for spending most of his work days in adult-themed chat rooms. It wasn’t his fault, he said – he had an Internet addiction, which he claims counts as a protected psychological impairment under the ADA. A decision has yet to be reached by the court.
More recently, the American Journal of Psychiatry published a write-up about compulsive use of the computer, which says Internet addiction should be taken seriously as a legitimate mental disorder (thanks to Engadget Mobile).
Of course, it’s still up in the air whether or not Internet addiction will become ADA-protected – for that, we’ll have to wait to hear what the courts say. Even if it does find legal protection, though, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to regulate office computer use or fire people for breaking your policy.
It’d most likely be looked at the same way the ADA looks at other addictions – that is, employees aren’t protected when they abuse substances, only when they seek treatment. For example, you can fire someone for coming in drunk, but not for missing work to enter a rehab program.
But will you someday have to give employees time off to go to Internet rehab? It doesn’t look like it’s coming in the very near future, but stranger things have happened. We’ll keep you posted.
Read more here.
