A Michigan man won’t get unemployment benefits after he was fired for spending almost half his workday looking at internet porn, an appellate court ruled. 

The court rejected Ronald G. Berglund’s argument that his actions did not affect his work performance and did not constitute “misconduct” where his employer never specifically warned him not to look at teenagecheerleaders.com or sextelevision.net for 3.5 hours a day at work.  How was he supposed to know?   

The court noted that the porn-viewing could have affected the employer’s network performance and concluded that “use of the employer’s computer equipment to access websites with nudity is not the equivalent of keeping a magazine in a desk drawer.”  This reasoning does not depend on the explicit nature of the websites and, presumably, could be equally applicable to employee use of social media sites or G-Rated YouTube videos (though the court did note the prevalence of spam, pop-ups, and cookies on pornographic websites).

Meanwhile, Berglund’s obvious soul mate, the Australian woman seeking worker’s compensation after a hotel lamp fell on her head during sex, continues her fight for justice.

Previously on Post or Perish:   SEC Workers Risk “Security” by “Exchanging” Porn