Post by FWS on Dec 22, 2012 19:35:23 GMT -6
Iowa court OKs firing of female worker for being too 'irresistibly attractive'
The bombshell ruling came after Melissa Nelson, 32, sued her boss of 10 years, Dr. James Knight, for gender discrimination.
By Joe Kemp / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Horndog bosses in Iowa have a new tool to save their marriages — they can fire employees who are too hot for the workplace.
The state’s all-male supreme court ruled 7-0 Friday that an Iowa City dentist legally canned his female assistant because she was “irresistibly attractive” and a threat to his marriage.
The bombshell ruling came after Melissa Nelson, 32, sued her boss of 10 years, Dr. James Knight, for gender discrimination.
The married mother claims she was fired in January 2010 after Knight’s wife became jealous of the pair’s relationship, which included harmless text messages between them outside of work.
“These judges sent a message to Iowa women that they don’t think men can be held responsible for their sexual desires and that Iowa women are the ones who have to monitor and control their bosses’ sexual desires,” Nelson’s attorney, Paige Fiedler, told the Associated Press. “If (the bosses) get out of hand, then the women can be legally fired for it.”
Knight, 53, admitted that Nelson was a great worker, but complained in the final months of her employment that her tight clothing was too much of a distraction.
He even once told her that if his pants were bulging, she would know her outfits were too revealing, according to the lawsuit.
He also quipped about her irregular sex life, describing it as “like having a Lamborghini in the garage and never driving it,” the court papers show.
Knight, who is also married with children, exchanged text messages with Nelson regularly. They primarily consisted of banter about personal matters. But Knight’s wife, who works in the same office, found out about the out-of-office conversations and demanded Nelson be fired.
The dentist, after consulting with a local pastor, soon terminated her and gave her one month’s severance. Knight later admitted to Nelson’s husband that he feared he would eventually try to start an affair with her.
Nelson did not claim sexual harassment, but said that she wouldn’t have been fired if she were a man.
After the ruling from the all-male high court, one of only a few testosterone-only panels in the nation, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote that allowing Nelson’s suit would have stretched the definition of gender discrimination.
Knight’s lawyer, Stuart Cochrane, said the decision was a home-run for family values.
“While there was really no fault on the part of Mrs. Nelson, it was just as clear the decision to terminate her was not related to the fact that she was a woman,” he told the Associated Press. “The motives behind Dr. Knight terminating Mrs. Nelson were quite clear: he did so to preserve his marriage.”
