Doc91678
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
December 22, 2012
by Jazz Shaw
One of the wilder stories from the judicial branch to cross our desk in some time popped up this weekend. Our tale takes place in an Iowa dentists office, where an attractive, married woman works as a dental assistant. After ten years on the job providing what the dentist himself described as stellar performance, she was fired because she was too attractive and represented a threat to the owners marriage. There was no affair. There was no allegation of an affair. But the dentists wife also worked there and, after discovering some personal (not sexual) text messages between the two, she wanted the woman gone. The assistant went to court claiming unjust termination. Theres no way that one holds up, right? Wrong.
A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Someone I frequently turn to when I need to understand the byzantine maze of the legal system, Dr. James Joyner, seems to feel that this was pretty much the correct call.
In Iowa you can be fired for being too pretty « Hot Air
by Jazz Shaw
One of the wilder stories from the judicial branch to cross our desk in some time popped up this weekend. Our tale takes place in an Iowa dentists office, where an attractive, married woman works as a dental assistant. After ten years on the job providing what the dentist himself described as stellar performance, she was fired because she was too attractive and represented a threat to the owners marriage. There was no affair. There was no allegation of an affair. But the dentists wife also worked there and, after discovering some personal (not sexual) text messages between the two, she wanted the woman gone. The assistant went to court claiming unjust termination. Theres no way that one holds up, right? Wrong.
A dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant that he found attractive simply because he and his wife viewed the woman as a threat to their marriage, the all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an irresistible attraction, even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong. Such firings may be unfair, but they are not unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act because they are motivated by feelings and emotions, not gender, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote.
An attorney for Fort Dodge dentist James Knight said the decision, the first of its kind in Iowa, is a victory for family values because Knight fired Melissa Nelson in the interest of saving his marriage, not because she was a woman.
An attorney for Fort Dodge dentist James Knight said the decision, the first of its kind in Iowa, is a victory for family values because Knight fired Melissa Nelson in the interest of saving his marriage, not because she was a woman.
Someone I frequently turn to when I need to understand the byzantine maze of the legal system, Dr. James Joyner, seems to feel that this was pretty much the correct call.
As weird and embarrassing as this case is, its a reasonable decision in the narrow case of a sole proprietorship. Should the boss be able to work with women he finds attractive and resist crossing boundaries of professionalism? Sure. But, if its his shop, he should have the right to remove the temptation.
This obviously becomes more problematic in a larger firm, especially when the supervisor isnt also the owner. In those cases, asking for reassignments or just moving on to another firm are more appropriate solutions. But thats unreasonable if its your firm.
This obviously becomes more problematic in a larger firm, especially when the supervisor isnt also the owner. In those cases, asking for reassignments or just moving on to another firm are more appropriate solutions. But thats unreasonable if its your firm.
In Iowa you can be fired for being too pretty « Hot Air
