Porn Downloads on Computer
Kymm
140 Posts
Here's the situation...We have an employee who has been with us a year or so - when he was hired he offered to bring in his home computer (laptop) and use it for work as well. s we were "short" on computers at the time, we said "ok".... Our MIS dept. hooked him up and configured the computer for the programs he would need. We have now discovered that he has over 7000 downloads of porno pictures on it! However, we cannot see where he did any of that since his date of hire. Where should we go with this? (We were "investigating" another matter in the same office, when this discovery was made by our MIS guy.) Being that this laptop IS also his personal computer, can we do anything? And being that we cannot see where he downloaded anything since he became our employee..... Or, by his agreeing to use his laptop for business, can we require that our internet policy be applied to him as well? (and thus face disciplinary action for having these pictures on his computer)...
I'm thinking we need to advise him what we have found and that we will furnish him with a company laptop and he is to follow company policy in respect to that - but not sure if we can do anything else at this point... thoughts?
I'm thinking we need to advise him what we have found and that we will furnish him with a company laptop and he is to follow company policy in respect to that - but not sure if we can do anything else at this point... thoughts?
Comments
I agree with the child porn comment.
The laptop has to go.
I'd think seriously about letting him go as well, not because of what he might have been looking at, but because it was a really stupid thing for him to do. Unfortunately, over the years I have come to the conclusion that bad or stupid employees do not get better.
His actions potentially placed not only the company, but other employees at risk of issues being raised at some pt.
The $1000 you saved by letting him use his own laptop was not worth it. Not only can stuff on his personal laptop slow down the system, I assume you have a backup system that is saving everything on his laptop on a daily basis.
I'm apparently in the minority, but I'd seriously look at letting him go because he did such a stupid thing and caused you extra work.
since his date of hire" and if he has been a good employee during that time, I would let him know that the company will be providing him with a new laptop computer from here on, that the company's internet usage policy will apply and that any personal files, etc. are not to be used or kept on this company computer.
I would let him know that while investigating another unrelated incident that inappropriate material was found on his personal computer.....does he have any personal problems that he feels would interfere with his ability to perform his job?......if not, then personal computer has to stay at home this point forward.
If he has been a good employee for this long, then give him the benefit of the doubt, a new computer, and a warning. Keep periodic checks to make sure he stays in compliance with policy.
I do have to ask how a disciplinary meeting is turning a blind eye to the issue? And how is that it would weaken the prohibition of obscene material?
It is easy to see that you have strong personal beliefs about this subject. Be careful, rational thinking is sometimes clouded by that.
I'll go back to my corner.
His response will tell you a lot about what his intentions are.
I'd also advise him of the company policy on pornographic materials at work. I'd tend to be suspect of someone who would bring in a personal laptop to a job site knowing this stuff was on it, but hey that's just me.
your scenario is quite a bit different from the original post, where the employee was there for little more than a year. Someone with long service and a spotless record would, in my opinion, warrant some leniency. But a one year employee with over 7000 downloaded images on a personal laptop that he requested to use at work - are you really inclined to give this guy a break too? If so, for what reason? A long one year of service and an unblemished record?
I agree that it doesn't necessarily reflect favorably on an individual's character, but in the limited context of the post, I must agree with Gillian and Smace. I would view this as bad conduct and worthy of discipline, but I would be very concerned about the fact that the IT people can't trace any of the downloads to a period of time occurring AFTER he was employed by the company. Smace's 'talking to' and stern warning about what would happen if such instances occurred again are - again, within the context outlined in the post - reasonable.
As far as the poster knows, the guy did not download the porn on company time and they are not even sure it is his. It is likely his, but I don't base my decisions on likely if I don't have to. Maybe I should clarify what I meant by "have a talk with him." The talk would consist of "your ass will be fired if anything like this pops up at anytime."
I'm trying to remain professional in this discussion. Your rhetorical, self-serving questions are about to end that, however.
Whatever you decide, please investigate first!
I think the point is that the IT dept is not able to conclusively determine when this was done or even if he is accessing these files. In my mind this is the company's fault for not knowing what was on the computer when he started working, and that is a fault of the company being "short". That taken into account, admit the company responsibility form not being able to make conclusive calls and go forward.
I don't know about other states but here in CA if we fired for stuff we "suspected" happen, we would easily lose in the battle.
I agree with you that the stern warning, such as , "We are providing you a new company pc and it will be monitored for a period of 6 months, and ANY incident of porn will result in immediate termination." I assume that a similar thing was done for the person who they were originally investigating.
Also agree that if it is child porn that trumps all.
I see that seperate from the company's decision to fire. I do fault the company for letting him use his laptop without knowing what was on it. At minimum the laptop should have been checked by IT to make sure it did not cause any harm to the network with viruses or any such thing, and I do believe it should have been checked for it's contents. I am simply saying that if you cannot prove he did the downloads or access them on company time, he could claim he had no idea and were on there when he bought it, and it may stand up in court. If he is a porn addict, the warning will mean little and he will access that kind of material even after the warning and if you are montitoring his new pc, you will know and can then fire with proof positive that he is an offender. Of note, I have heard of cases where you should also be able to prove that no one else got on his pc and downloaded the inappropriate material.
Keep us posted!
PORK