Norway's New Job Descriptions

Scandinavia may be poor, but Norwegian workers won the right to be aroused:

Norway's Supreme Court supported decisions refusing Conoco Phillips the right to fire two workers who surfed the Internet for pornographic images on company time.

The two workers on the Ekofisk field lost their jobs after being caught peeping at porn on the job in the summer of 2002. The pair took their case to court and won at both the municipal and appeals level, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports. . .

The Supreme Court has ruled that the firings were not justified and have awarded the two NOK 250,000 (USD 40,000) each in compensation.

On average during the week, 25 percent of Norway’s workers call in sick. Norway's labor productivity has been the highest in Europe, though less than America's. Going forward, I predict fewer sick days--but a steep drop in productivity.

(via Jawa Report)

More:

Gary at RightPundit says "preventing employers from making workers actually work naturally leads to poverty."

And Bob at Sweet Spirits of Ammonia predicts Norway's decision will be the next foreign-law precedent cited by the U.S. Supreme Court.