Print this one out and hang
it up near the office watercooler!
In a historic ruling that should send cheers echoing through the stuffy, gray canyons of cubicle-land, an administrative law judge wrote an opinion in favor of websurfing at work when he was asked to settle a case between Toquir Choudhri and the New York City Department of Education, where Choudhri works, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Department of Education felt that Choudri's websurfing was grounds for disciplinary action. Choudhri felt that he should be allowed to surf at work so long as he never neglected any of his duties.
The judge sided with Choudhri, writing, "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 work." Don't rejoice just yet, though. Employers have a way of chaining us to our desks for longer and longer periods as our work and personal lives blend, thanks to technology. This is just one step forward after many steps backward.
(The "why this matters to gamers graf: though Choudhri wasn't
checking Joystiq.com, we know that the importance of this victory for worker bees isn't lost on our readers. Many of
you have been battling draconian internet use policies for ages. We know that we've lost some of you to filtering
software that's become increasingly savvy about banning Joystiq, thanks in part to our growing traffic.)
