And they got it in magazines, too, Martin!
Posted on 01/25/2006 2:43:35 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Senator says ruling, complete with back pay, is 'outrageous')
Madison, WI - A Shawano, WI probation and parole agent who was fired in 2004 for accessing Internet pornography and other inappropriate sites for hours a day over at least five months has his job back - with a raise.
He also will receive a year of back pay.
A. Henry Hempe, a Madison arbitrator, ruled in November 2005 that the agent, Thomas DeLeon, should have received a one-day suspension instead of being fired for the repeated infractions. The decision stems in part from the Department of Corrections' "relatively light discipline for first-offense misuse of state computers," he wrote.
DeLeon was reinstated in December. Department officials are preparing a payment of about $45,000 for back wages.
The department must also pay any medical expenses for DeLeon that would have been covered by the state's insurance plan during his yearlong absence, the arbitrator ruled. The order prohibits DeLeon from using the Internet.
During the time DeLeon was viewing pornography at work, he was being paid for more than 10 hours of overtime a week, according to department documents requested by the Journal Sentinel under the state's open records law.
State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) called the decision "outrageous" when told of it Tuesday, but said there was little the department could do.
"They don't have any choice (other than to follow it), but it's almost comical at this point that they would allow this guy to stay on the job," he said.
Quala Champagne, the state administrator of community corrections, said she and her colleagues were shocked by the ruling, which cannot be appealed.
"I'm stunned by the decision," she said. "I think we took strong and fair action, and appropriate action, in this situation."
Hempe wrote in his decision that DeLeon fell into a "vicious downward spiral" after his best friend committed suicide in the fall of 2003, which Hempe said led to DeLeon viewing pornography as an escape.
Hempe also said he believed DeLeon's claims that he minimized the pornographic sites on his computer screen during much of his time online because his supervisor never saw him logged onto the Web.
Hempe also said DeLeon's previously unblemished personnel record played a role in his decision, as did the fact that he had not fallen behind on his work. Hempe scolded the department for not referring DeLeon to an assistance program after being confronted with "clues that something was very wrong" with him.
The overall picture presented of DeLeon during the arbitration hearing "suggests a man with conventional, healthy, family-oriented values," Hempe wrote. "It is not the picture of a man with an abiding obsession or addiction to watching bizarre, debasing pornography."
The arbitrator cited 10 other recent cases in which corrections employees viewed pornography on state computers, in some cases repeatedly. None of those others was fired, he said.
The Department of Corrections released a copy of the decision three weeks after the Journal Sentinel requested it. Release of the document was delayed to give DeLeon time to decide if he wanted to try to block the release of the decision in court, a course of action he chose not to take.
The department censored references in the report to DeLeon's medical condition, citing state and federal health privacy laws.
DeLeon and Tom Corcoran, the president of the union that represents probation and parole agents, did not return calls Tuesday.
DeLeon had been making a base salary of about $44,500 annually when he was fired. When he returned this past December, he made $44,921 - about 20 cents more an hour - because of an automatic pay raise that kicked in at the end of 2004, said department spokesman John Dipko. Computer misuse uncovered
In the fall of 2004, a computer technician at the department noted that DeLeon was logging on to the Web for long periods and visiting inappropriate sites, including music chat rooms, eBay, a site that claimed to sell legal marijuana and "even bizarre (though legal) forms of pornography that in some cases plumbed the depths of human depravity," according to the arbitrator.
Computer logs showed DeLeon spent an average of 4.2 hours a day on the Web in the fall of 2004, according to the department. On Sept. 15, 2004, he was logged on for 10 hours and 5 minutes, which the skeptical arbitrator called "unbelievable."
At a department hearing, DeLeon maintained he was only visiting Web sites after he had performed his duties. He claimed he was unaware he could approach his boss for additional tasks, the decision said.
After he was fired, DeLeon's union appealed, which put the issue before Hempe. High marks from supervisor
DeLeon's supervisor, Kathy Dagnon, spoke highly of him during the arbitration hearing. She said she had never seen him view Web sites - pornographic or otherwise - even though she could clearly see his computer screen during frequent visits to his office.
DeLeon told the arbitrator he started encountering problems in October 2003, after his unnamed friend committed suicide. The problems grew worse when a business he started with his wife failed.
He told officials the Internet became "the total wrong diversion for my need to escape." He said he believed he started visiting the Web more frequently in May 2004, five months before he was caught by the department.
DeLeon expressed regret for his actions, saying they had put strain on his family and fellow workers. But he said the computer logs did not accurately reflect his behavior at work because much of the time he minimized the windows so he could do his job.
Probation and parole agents are eligible for overtime if they have heavy caseloads. Based on his caseload, DeLeon was eligible for - and received - 44 hours of overtime a month. That amounted to more than $1,400 a month in extra pay.
Well, of course! Then we'll give you TWO years back pay, plus pay for a DSL line exclusively for you so you can view your porn more quickly, minimize it and then get right back to work! *Rolleyes*
I hate to side with the pervert, but porn is legal. It shouldn't make a difference if he was looking at smut or playing solitaire or IM'ing his grandmother. That said, if the activity was taking away from his duties, then he should be shown the door without pay.
There's ... there's ... PR0N on the internet??
This kills me:
"..., as did the fact that he had not fallen behind on his work."
45 large a year to have him not work. It's not that he wasn't getting his work done cause he was viewing porn, they had no work for me. Perhaps this time around they'll keep him busy and hopefully when they go patch this loop hole, they'll leave a way for them to cut the dead weight.
I don't have a problem with it so long as it's consistent with preexisting department policy. If misuse of computers only merited a one-day suspension for a first offense, then that was the rule that should've been followed. If they want to change the rule so that viewing porn is a termination offense, then I'm fine with that too.
The point is, they should have clear policies and follow them. If they didn't, then reinstatement is the right action. If they want to terminate in the future for this, then just change the policy. Granted, I'm not one of these people who goes brain-addled the moment I see the word porn. My position would be the same if he'd been looking at eBay.
Poor guy went into a downward spiral after his friend committed suicide. Maybe a teacher gave him a D when he was in school that traumatized him. He might have even stubbed his toe as a child and it bled. Life just isn't fair. Fire him and let him start over to build his life anew. I guess I'm cruel, but life is hard and you must take responsibility for your actions.
If I wanted to look at the stuff I wouldn't do it at work. Sheez. I would be afraid a boss (a lot of females there) would walk in and I would be mortified. :-o
Go Seahawks!
Common sense loses again.
Say it ain't so!
"even bizarre (though legal) forms of pornography that in some cases plumbed the depths of human depravity,"
Was he surfing at DU?
parsy, the plumber.
And they got it in magazines, too, Martin!
Close enough. Whereas porn is eye candy, FR is brain candy... :)
No way to close loophole. In 1998 & 1999, I worked for Transcor America, an extradition company out of Nashville, Tn.
Wisconsin sends a lot of inmates out of state due to shortage of bed space. The inmates there were allowed more personal property than any state i was ever in.
Officers did not really have any control over them..might as well been looking at porn on the puter...
I presume taxpayers are paying your salary, so you don't feel bad about surfing the web.
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