Man fired for "spying" on boss

[Cerek the Barbaric]

State worker fired after spying on boss playing solitaire


The Associated Press
6/28/2004, 6:53 p.m. CT


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A state employee was fired after he put software known as "spyware" on his boss's computer and determined the supervisor was spending much of his work time playing solitaire.

A hearing officer with the Alabama Personnel Department heard the appeal Monday of former Department of Transportation employee Vernon Blake. The State Personnel Board is expected to rule on whether to reinstate Blake at its Aug. 18 meeting.

Blake told the Montgomery Advertiser that last October he put a free software program called WinSpy on the computer of George Dobbs, assistant chief of DOT's Right of Way Bureau. The software recorded what was on Dobbs' computer at random intervals.

More than 70 percent of WinSpy's 414 images show games of solitaire, he said, a fact he brought to the attention of the agency's senior management.

The department reprimanded Dobbs in a Jan. 21 letter that referred to "a significant amount of time using your ALDOT personal computer (PC) to play video games." Blake, who was the department's network administrator, was fired.

The letter to Dobbs also states, "While your work ethic and your production are above reproach, management level personnel must be mindful not to compromise their ability to manage subordinates."

Dobbs referred questions about the case to a DOT lawyer.

"That conduct of placing software on a supervisor's computer to monitor the supervisor without authority or permission is very serious conduct that ... the Department of Transportation could not allow," said the agency's chief counsel, Jim Ippolito.

Blake claims his status as the department's network administrator gave him the authority to monitor Dobbs' computer.

In his appeal to the personnel board, Blake included a copy of Gov. Bob Riley's Feb. 3 "State of the State" speech in which the governor referred to Alabama's "opportunity to make this the most accountable, most cost-effective and most efficient state government in the nation."

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I heard about this on the radio a couple of days ago. My first thought was "Well of course he got fired if he installed spyware on his boss PC", then the story went on to reveal that the employee had verified that his boss was spending a lot of "work time" playing Solitaire.

I have to agree - at least in theory - that the employee's position of network administrator does give him an implied right to view the activities of ALL the PC's in his company to see what they are being used for.

I think it is a clear sign of "politic business as usual" that the supervisor (who is undoubtedly making quite a bit more than the network administrator) was reprimanded for playing Solitaire on the clock - but the employee who caught the transgression was fired, because his actions are considered a form of insubordination.

All I can say is that it must be nice to be the boss and have immunity from being fired for playing games on the companies computer. [img]graemlins/dontknowaboutyou.gif[/img]

[John D Harris]

Normally Cerek, I'd agree with your assesment, but we are talking about the Gov't of the great State of Alabama here. Those pukes in Montgomery, waste more of our tax dollars then just about any other State. I'd bet they can beat most any 2 State combined. I don't know why anybody would run for govenor, almost every one of the pukes after leaving office has been indited on something. Wallace was the last one I can recall that got out and was not indited. The gov't of the State of Alabama is slap-full of waste, fraud, and plain old fashioned coruption. So they had to get rid of this guy he didn't know how to play the game, how dare he, want them to do their jobs, and not waste the people's money.

Personally I would expect every government PC to have that kind of software on it and Would expect the network administrator to be managing it.....Of course being part of the IT infrastructure I would be monitoring my own computer....

Unfortuantely state and federal workers have too strong a union to let that happen

[ 07-02-2004, 10:33 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

I work low-level federal government, and you'd be surprised how little sysadmins are actually allowed to monitor those with higher pay grades. Network traffic is generally acknowledged to be admin domain, but the actual computers (of the bosses at least; there are loopholes in the rules for everyone else...) are forbidden.

I have long been PO'd that in federal Govt. THey make rules for things..then exempt themselves from those same rules and laws. Technically, there should not even be a game of solitaire on that PC ofhis...it is expressly forbidden for any "Games" software to be on Government Issue PC's.....of course it isn't enforced...else how would the US Army develop their Recruiting Game Program "US ARMY" [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 07-02-2004, 12:31 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[Lauren]

Hmm...well I'll know not to play solitaire when I finally get a job [img]tongue.gif[/img]
I think in a way the spyware was a good idea, because the boss didn't seem to be doing much work. But it was also a bad idea because spyware is illegal.

[John D Harris]

I e-mailed and called the Govenor of the great State of Alabama, and told them to defend this guy, or appoint him to a position of real power. Because this man is trying to save my tax dollars and cut waste and the dead wood out.

[Larry_OHF]

Originally posted by John D Harris: I e-mailed and called the Govenor of the great State of Alabama, and told them to defend this guy, or appoint him to a position of real power. Because this man is trying to save my tax dollars and cut waste and the dead wood out.

Good for you!

I feel for this guy, as he understood that there was no immunity to the rules, even on his boss's level. It must have taken alot of courage to do what he did, and I hope he can get a new and better job soon, if not already.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Lauren: Hmm...well I'll know not to play solitaire when I finally get a job [img]tongue.gif[/img] I think in a way the spyware was a good idea, because the boss didn't seem to be doing much work. But it was also a bad idea because spyware is illegal.

Spyware is not illegal (otherwise my computers wouldn't have been infected with it). It especially is not illegal if it is being used for a legitimate purpose. The employee in question was the Network Administrator. As such, it was his job to supervise what activity was ocurring on ALL of the computers in his network. If anybody should be fired, it should have been the boss that was spending so much time playing Solitaire. More than 70 percent of the images from his bosses computer contained Solitaire screens. The implication is that the boss - who I'm sure makes a big, fat salary - is apparantly only working 30% of the time he is in the office - if that. That 70% of screen images probably does not include lunch hour and breaks, so this guy was giving productive work maybe 25% of the time he was "on the clock".

[Lauren]

I agree with you Cerek that the Boss should have been the one fired.