Man Fired For Looking At Gun Web Sites

[mrjarrell]

Declan McCullagh takes a look at the case of a man fired by a subsidiary of the Hartford insurance group. I, for one, shall never buy one of their services in the future.

From CBS

It's not unusual for employees to be fired for browsing pornographic Web sites at work. But a Pennsylvania gun owner named Tony Jackson may have been the first person ever fired for looking at Web sites featuring gun parts.

Jackson worked at a Lotus Notes administrator at Planco, a subsidiary of Hartford, Conn.-based insurance company The Hartford. He's a firearms instructor and self-described Second Amendment advocate who, while at work in May 2007, visited Web sites including shotgun maker Mossberg and Impact Guns's online store because he and his wife were planning on going skeet shooting and she needed a replacement part for her shotgun.

When Jackson was searching the Web for a replacement shotgun stock, supervisor Christie Vazquez -- who admitted in a subsequent deposition to being "very anti-gun" and had quarreled with him before about politics -- noticed what he was doing. Vazquez said she was scared because it was only a few weeks after the Virginia Tech massacre (see CBS News video), so she promptly reported her colleague's Web browsing to Planco's human resources department. Vazquez also informed the HR department that Jackson owned guns and was a member of the National Rifle Association.

You can guess what happened next: according to court documents, the HR representative, Jamie Davis, replied that reporting the visits to Mossberg.com and other sites was "the right thing" to do, and ordered the information technology department to investigate Jackson's Internet activity. After receiving a list of Web sites visited, Davis recommended that Jackson be placed on leave, which the company authorized. Planco disabled Jackson's front door and computer access and arranged for undercover police to be at the building the next morning.

More on the case at the source.

 

[waloidian]

oh dear Lord, this is as bad as the kid getting suspended from school for bringing a deadly spork knife weapon.

 

[LEaSH]

They were looking to fire him for ANYTHING. The gun related cause isn't going to hold water for them, hopefully.

Depending on PA worker's/employer's rights laws, there will be some sort of settlment in favor of Jackson.

 

[Joe Williams]

They were looking to fire him for ANYTHING. The gun related cause isn't going to hold water for them, hopefully.

Depending on PA worker's/employer's rights laws, there will be some sort of settlment in favor of Jackson.

He's already lost his case. Silly boy filed a gun case in Philly. You aren't going to win a gun case there, judges are crooked and universally anti-gun.

 

[jd3772000]

Wow @ this...

 

[nova512]

there must be a skeleton somewhere.

 

[Jack Ryan]

The guys sounds like a brainless DB.

He already had a problem with her and then stuck his chin out and dared her to knock his block off. He's stupid. Don't mean he desearved to get fired for that one incident but sounds like the IT department showed pretty quick it wasn't his first time for unauthorised use of company property.

 

[level.eleven]

The guys sounds like a brainless DB.

He already had a problem with her and then stuck his chin out and dared her to knock his block off. He's stupid. Don't mean he desearved to get fired for that one incident but sounds like the IT department showed pretty quick it wasn't his first time for unauthorised use of company property.

But that's the rub. The IT policy was vague, filters were in place, but didn't filter out mossburg.com. But, yeah, I agree. Save that stuff for when you get home. At work, around strangers that may be gunning for you for whatever reason be it work or personal, it is a good time to be "paranoid" about your hobby. Its hard, but I often bite my tongue and refrain from proselytizing about firearms or liberty while at work. Even during down times such as lunch.

 

[alwalker84]

This is a bit scarey (as I sit at my desk) Because I look at alot of gun stuff online while im at work...Heck the last couple guns I've purchased Ive done it at work.

 

[Jack Ryan]

This is a bit scarey (as I sit at my desk) Because I look at alot of gun stuff online while im at work...Heck the last couple guns I've purchased Ive done it at work.

If it's "scarey" you probably already know what you need to know.

If you want to keep your job, don't stand up give them a bunch of free shots at you.

 

[TRWXXA]

If he is an "employee at will" they can terminate him for any reason, or no reason at all. But if his company is going to give a reason, they had better be fair about it or they're going to get their @ss in a wringer. Do they fire EVERY employee that uses the company computers for legal, personal reasons? Did he violate company policy by going to gun sales websites?

He may have a legitimate, civil case. But if he gets a jury full of anti-gun zealots, or even an anti-gun judge, he's screwed.

 

[Hustlehard]

I'm at "The Network" and I get on this site and buds everyday, no problems, but I haven't had a supv come "big brother" me yet, sounds like a weak case

 

[ejscott]

has much as i hate to see someone loss thier job. when at work one sould be working. unless it is lunch, or a brake. this is not directed at you hustlehard. everyone has different atmospheres at the work place.

 

[bigiron]

this day and age, hell, i might be worried depending on who it is. if i walked by the computer and my wife was looking at gun stuff, i would be very worried!

 

[CarmelHP]

If I was an employer and I found that I was paying you to spend a good portion of your day shopping for window dressings or car parts or whatever I would likely fire you too.

 

[INGunGuy]

I sure am glad that where I was is VERY VERY VERY pro-gun rights. I am actually in the IT department for the state of Kentucky. I work with a group of 15 people, and out of 15, only 1 doesnt have a firearm that they regularly shoot. There are 5 of us the carry in my group alone. That is not including other groups that deal with other aspects of the states computers. We sure dont sit around all day talking guns and ammo, but we will all head out to someone's care to see a new rifle or handgun. My boss asked me to help him sell a revolver, and I bought it from him. We then went out and got him a nice S/W 9mm semi-auto.

INGunGuy

 

[henktermaat]

I sure am glad that where I was is VERY VERY VERY pro-gun rights. I am actually in the IT department for the state of Kentucky. I work with a group of 15 people, and out of 15, only 1 doesnt have a firearm that they regularly shoot. There are 5 of us the carry in my group alone. That is not including other groups that deal with other aspects of the states computers. We sure dont sit around all day talking guns and ammo, but we will all head out to someone's care to see a new rifle or handgun. My boss asked me to help him sell a revolver, and I bought it from him. We then went out and got him a nice S/W 9mm semi-auto.

INGunGuy

I almost want to see your company get robbed... that would make for a very entertaining news article

 

[Indy317]

The more I read these things, the more I remind myself to stay off the internet at work. I think starting today I am going to severely restrict any internet activity. While most of my co-workers are understandable and could careless about most of the forums and websites I read, I wonder about the random pulling of records, or programs that might come out that flag certain websites.

Looks like it is best to restrict internet stuff to company e-mails and checking things like bank account and stock prices. My employer is a little more liberal with freedom of speech, but if they see or hear "gun", I do not think they would be as supportive. I just read the rule book and I always thought possession of firearms was forbidden, now I find out that it includes the buying and selling, which many people in my department have done (including supervisors). I will stop that for sure.

 

[airmotive]

A netbook with a cellular internet connection that you pay for is, IMHO, the only way to go if you intend to do ANY non-work-related internet activity during work hours. Even if it's authorized by your company (as it is with mine), I don't want my private emails, passwords, websites, etc, running through the company's vast IT system - where everything is certainly recorded.
(posted from work (during a coffee break) using a computer and bandwidth paid for by me.)