Porn-surfing Norwegians awarded $40k

Unfairly dismissed, court rules

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 29th April 2005 14:17 GMT

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We are seriously considering relocating the entire Vulture Central editorial staff to occasionally-sunny Norway after learning that two workers sacked for hunting net smut at work have been awarded 250,000 Kroner ($40,000) a head for unfair dismissal, Aftenposten Norway reports.

The former Conoco Phillips employees - given the heave-ho from their posts on the Ekofisk oilfield in 2002 after being caught red-handed while perusing online adult entertainment - had already won their case at both municipal and appeal levels. Conoco Phillips appealed again to the Supreme Court "in order to have a clarification of what employees can do on company time and what employers can do to enforce violations of company policy".

The court duly clarified that the sackings were not justified and awarded the pair compensation. The long-term effects of the ruling are unclear, but expect Norwegian exports to fall by 60 per cent over the next six months and a sharp increase in "work-related" RSI and acute male blindness syndrome. ®