A German court ruled on Thursday that people paid to talk dirty in the Internet's swelling number of sex chatrooms should enjoy the same rights as other workers, regardless of whether their job is "immoral."
Published:
14 August 2000 y., Monday
The court rejected claims by a north German firm offering live online sex chats that the immorality of the work done by its staff should exempt the company from having to pay social security contributions for them. A judge ruled that the morality of online sex services, which mostly employ women to meet a seemingly insatiable and largely male appetite for impersonal stimulation, was irrelevant and decided staff should be treated as they would in other jobs.
The company, which was not named in the hearing, is now liable for more than one million marks ($461,900) to cover contributions for staff it said were self-employed freelancers, but who the court decided were employees.
Even mainstream Internet portals in Germany, where topless women are a nightly fixture
on national television, are awash with links to subscription-based Web sites promising
such delights as "live chats with hundreds of the hottest girls."
Social security contributions in Germany are equivalent to about 41 percent of gross pay, though the center-left government has pledged to cut this back as part of a drive to make German job markets more flexible and the economy more competitive.
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
75 years after Moscow first opened its underground train system, Muscovites can ride a restored vintage train.
more »
A glacier melt threatens to cause massive flooding and destroy a centuries old monastic fortress in the remote country of Bhutan.
more »
What do countries as geographically diverse as Saudi Arabia, Uganda and Jamaica have in common? All of them criminalised homosexuality.
more »
Human rights is a key issue for the European Parliament and MEPs Monday took a first look at what the European Union did last year, when they discussed the EU annual report on human rights in the world.
more »
Researchers found high levels of mecury in a Japenese dolphin-hunting town, but say the mecury has no ill effects.
more »
Crowds of Mexicans marched peacefully through the capital city on Saturday demanding the legalisation of marijuana.
more »
Prisoners are reported to have dramatic improvements in behaviour after pets are introduced in a new scheme.
more »
Israeli Ultra-Orthodox MPs are lining up against activists proposing a total ban on furs, saying traditional fur hats are an important part of their religious tradition.
more »
EU Member States should organise social protection, including at least 14 weeks' maternity allowance, for self-employed women and self-employed men's wives or life partners, in accordance with national laws, said the Women's Rights Committee on Tuesday.
more »
How are the European Parliament, the European Commission and other parts of the European Union supposed to interest people and explain their work?
more »