There is a constant attempt to extend the application of the different statutes we discuss each week. In a recent case, a former employee sued his ex-employer for disability discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act. What was the claimed disability? It was compulsive Internet use.
Without question, many individuals use the Internet extensively. Some studies suggest that almost 70 percent of adults use the Internet on a regular basis. The same studies indicate that up to 8 percent of the adults admit to such an overuse that their relationships with others are affected.
The claim that compulsive Internet use is a disability should fail -- at least for now. Other types of compulsive behavior, like gambling, are specifically excluded from the ADA. In order to qualify as a disability, employees would have to establish that compulsive Internet use is a mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.
It is difficult to identify the major life activity that meets this requirement. The ability to socialize with others has been asserted as a major life activity in other instances. It is hard to see how this argument can succeed in this instance.
Even if compulsive Internet use somehow is deemed to be a disability under the ADA, employers can be protected. This can occur when employers adopt, and uniformly enforce, a reasonable Internet use/technology policy.
The policy can limit the use of the Internet to the employer's business. Personal use can be prohibited. Unquestionably, pornography, and especially child pornography, must be banned.
Under the ADA, employers can discipline, and even terminate, an employee for the violation of a rule or policy, even if the violation is attributable to the disability. For example, an employee can be fired for fighting, even though the fighting was caused by the employee's mental illness.
Similarly, employees must adopt a comprehensive Internet use policy. If the policy is based upon a legitimate business necessity, and is uniformly enforced, the employer can safely rely upon it to discipline those individuals who claim to have compulsive Internet use disability.
As for now -- I've been away from the Internet long enough ...
Opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. James Jorgensen practices law at Hoeppner Wagner & Evans in Valparaiso.
