manager at the time chose to warn him rather than fire him. Because he has already been warned once, CEO Roberta Payne feels the termination is justified,

Adam, however, has a different view of the situation. He acknowledges that he was viewing a Facebook page on a company computer during work hours. Yes, the images and content were inappropriate, but they were not ones that he shared on his Facebook page; he was tagged in photos of his nephew's bachelor party in Las Vegas that are housed on his nephew's page. He can't help that his nephew's page is open to everyone. Sure, Adam could have set his Facebook privacy controls to prevent people from seeing him in tagged photos, but he forgot to do that.

His primary argument is that the computer use policy is unreasonable. The company does not check all employees' use all the time. The company randomly selects employees' computers for review and does so only a few times a year. He says many other employees use their computers for personal use; they just haven't been caught. The fact that he happened to be caught twice and is going to be fired is unfair. In addition, he argues that many employees also waste company time by$.$ talking to one another about personal issues. How is using the computer for personal issues any different?

Additionally, Adam was in a devastating automobile accident five years ago in whicrly his passenger was killed. The accident was not Adam's fault, but he suffers from post$-$traumatic stress that leads to anxiety attacks when Adam is in a stressful situation. Though he has never mentioned the post$-$traumatic stress to anyone at Midwest Chemicals, he says his doctor suggests that to avoid these attacks, Adam take frequent short breaks; checking Facebook or his personal email provides the short break that alleviates this stress. He does not have a smart phone or a personal computer, so what else is he supposed to do$?$ He is one of Midwest Chemicals best employees, so obviously his personal use of the computer is not hindering his work.

Lastly, Adam contends that as a $55-$year$-$old employee who is one of the top salary earners, he is being terminated as a money$-$saving measure and because he is an older worker. If anything, he thinks Midwest Chemicals is guilty of age discrimination and violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

You will assume the role of Richard Levy, weigh each party's argument, and decide whether Adam's termination stands.

Decide whether Adam's termination stands. Then, justify your decision to keep or fire Adam.

As the mediator in this case, I recommend that Adam's termination

stand.

be reversed