NEW YORK: An administrative law judge in the U.S. told the New York City Council that it cannot dismiss an employee just because he was surfing through news and travel websites while he was on duty.
The judge, John Spooner, recommended the mildest punishment for the employee, Toquir Choudhri, who has served the department of education for 14 years and who was accused of neglecting warnings not to use the internet while on duty. The judge said surfing the web at work is equivalent to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone.
Spooner said in his findings, "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."
Choudhri's union said everyone in his office had been looking at the internet during downtime and he was singled out because he had filed discrimination charges against the department sometime back.
Spooner said offices should apply the same standard to internet use as they do to other personal activities. Many agencies allow employees to take personal calls, or even read the newspaper, as long as those activities do not interfere with a worker's overall performance.
Martin Druyan, the union attorney representing Choudhri, said the judge ruled in Choudhri's favor because the department could not prove that work was backed up, or that phone calls went unanswered. "We don't advocate goofing off. The public should be served. But if there's no work, it's not his fault."
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein will now decide on the severity of Choudhri's punishment.
Druyan said this decision would strengthen the case of Edward Greenwood, a clerk in the city's Albany lobbying office, who was summarily fired by mayor Michael Bloomberg in February for having the game of solitaire on his computer.
