Company refuse to pay retiree $ 130,000 in arrears: he takes down the company's website
Every employee knows how complicated it can sometimes be to maintain good relationships with their bosses. There are cases in which, even if they have been employed for years by the same company, it is possible that this relationship can break down. The causes for disagreements which often arise mainly from the issue of working hours and salary. And, not infrequently, such problems continue when an employees retires.
An example of this is the story we are about to tell you about, in which a former company employee decided to block his ex- company's website due to a dispute that involved arrears that had not been paid to him.
via Boston Globe
This story took place in Newton, Massachusetts, where Steven Smith, a 73-year-old man and former employee of the city's police department, was denied $ 130,000 in salary arrears by his ex-bosses.
Seeing no clear way out of the dispute, Mr. Smith - who had already retired, restored to an alternative strategy. For nearly two decades, Smith had served as director of the police department's IT department, and their website had depended entirely on him. Aware of this and faced with the department's refusal to pay him, the man decided to take down the website, causing it to be offline for a few days.
"The Netwonpolice site is not out of order due to technical problems. If you want the site to be restored, contact Mayor Ruthanne Fuller": this is the statement Smith issued after he took down the website. This was a drastic act that, according to Smith he had been forced to take. If he had been paid what he was due, he would never have considered taking this path.
In the days that followed, the town's mayor issued a statement in which he said that the 73-year-old Smit had committed an illegal act. A new website was launched and Smith was unable to attack this one.
Smith's behavior was not exactly legal, but can he be blamed for what he did? If you were in a similar situation, what would you have done in his shoes?
