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I am in Human Resources for a Fortune 50 company, and I am totally on your side, I really am, so don't take my reply the wrong way.

Your job has aspects of MIS. In your line of work, the expectation to never come across electronic pornography is like a gynecologist expecting to never treat a case of genital herpes. That expectation is UNREALISTIC.

Can porn be considered sexual harassment? YOU BETCHA! However, there is nothing in the law that says that your company is obligated to discipline the offendor to your liking. It only says that their obligation is to make it STOP. Now, if employees continue to have porn, and the owners' disciplinary actions are not strict enough, effectively allowing a hostile work environment, then you may have a case.

It also wasn't directed at you so while you stumbled across it, I'm sure your job didn't require you to actually view it. Why would it embarass you or make you feel violated? You found the folder and reported it. The made him remove it and warned him and he did so.

Now if this employee was leaving explicit materials where he knew you'd find them, like buried in a file he'd asked you to recover or something, it would be a stronger case. Passively viewing something that wasn't intended for your eyes isn't SH. It may be against company policy and frankly, for a first time offense of this sort, it seems overly harsh to just terminate outright.

It was wrong of him to do no doubt, but I just don't see how a one time incident like this changes a thing for you.

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The employer's obligation upon discovering an instance of sexual harassment is to make the harassing behavior stop. That's it. If, in the case you've described, the employee is no longer storing pornographic material on the computer, then the employer has met its legal obligation. I don't agree that with your contention that if someone has done this once, they'll do it again but, if the person does do it again after being warned then the company would certainly be within its right to terminate the employee.

Your rights are to report the offending behavior and to have the offending behavior stop. You have reported the offending behavior and it has stopped.

Until or unless it happens again, that is the end of the matter.

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It's interesting how people can get the same response from several experienced responders here, then decide they're going to seek legal advice from an attorney because they don't like the answers. I wonder why these people post their question in the first place? :confused: :rolleyes: Sorry, I'm just tired today and not inclined to put up with stuff. :p