NEW YORK CITY, NY – Reasoning that “the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper,” administrative law Judge John Spooner recommended only a light reprimand for a city employee accused of disregarding warnings to abstain from web surfing while at work.The case in question involved a 14-year employee of the city’s Department of Education, Toquir Choudhri, whose work computer had been used to visit news and travel websites during work hours.
“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,” Judge Spooner stated in recommending a minor reprimand for Choudhri.
As a result of Spooner’s ruling, Choudri will not be fired for his web surfing, which continued after he received warnings to cease from his superiors.
Martin Druyan, Choudri’s attorney, characterized Spooner’s ruling as “very reasonable.”
“Look, at four in the morning, or because of the nature of the department, some city agencies have downtime,” Druyan said in an interview with CNET News. “Surfing on the Internet – everybody does it.”
Druyan also asserted that Choudri was “singled out in retaliation for discrimination charges that he filed against the Department of Education.”
“The judge ruled in our favor because they could not prove that work was backed up, or that phone calls went unanswered,” Druyan told CNET. “We don’t advocate goofing off. The public should be served. But if there’s not work, it’s not his fault.”
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on the other hand, isn’t at all pleased with Spooner’s ruling.
“You’re supposed to be working during the work day,” Bloomberg said. “The taxpayers are paying you to work. It is not unreasonable to expect you to work.”
Earlier this year, Bloomberg fired Edward Greenwood, a city clerk in Albany, for playing solitaire on his office computer. While the ruling from the Administrative Law judge has no value as precedent in other areas, it could affect Bloomberg’s firing of Greenwood.
Bloomberg said that “nobody begrudges” a worker taking personal phone calls or exchanging the occasional email with friends and relatives from their work machine so long as such activities are a “de minimis part of your day,” but said that the city should be free to terminate employees who routinely use their work computers for non-work activities.
“If you are spending hours on the Internet, yes, I think it is inappropriate,” Bloomberg said. “Why on earth do you think you’re hired? Do you think your boss would let you do that? I don’t think so.”
