Employers can fire workers they find too sexy

[lhorenzoo]

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Iowa court rules that such actions do not amount to unlawful discrimination



Iowa: The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that employers in the state can legally fire workers they find too attractive.

In a unanimous decision, the court held that a dentist did not violate the state’s civil rights act when he terminated a female dental assistant whom his wife considered a threat to their marriage.

The dental assistant, Melissa Nelson, who worked for dentist James Knight for more than 10 years and had never flirted with him, according to the testimony of both parties, sued, saying she would not have been fired if she were a man.

At trial, Knight testified he had complained to Nelson on several occasions that her clothing was too tight, revealing and “distracting.”

But sometime in 2009, he also began exchanging text messages with Nelson. Most of these were work-related and harmless, according to testimony. But others were more suggestive, including one in which Knight asked Nelson how often she had an orgasm. She never answered the text.

In late 2009, Knight’s wife found out about the text exchanges and demanded her husband terminate the dental assistant because “she was a big threat to our marriage

In early 2010, he fired her, saying their relationship had become a detriment to his family.

Nelson sued, saying that she had done nothing wrong, that she considered Knight a friend and father figure, and that she would not have been terminated but for her gender.

Knight argued that Nelson was terminated not because of her gender — all the employees of his practice are women — but because of the way their relationship had developed and the threat it posed to his marriage.

The seven justices, all men, said the basic question presented by the case was “whether an employee who has not engaged in flirtatious conduct may be lawfully terminated simply because the boss views the employee as an irresistible attraction.”

The high court ruled that bosses can fire workers they find too attractive and that such actions do not amount to unlawful discrimination.

The case was Melissa Nelson V. James H. Knight DDS, PC and James Knight

Employers can fire workers they find too sexy | GulfNews.com


na, ayaw gyud pasexy og maayo kay materminate ka sa trabaho kay maselos ang asawa sa boss...

[Dorothea]

Iowa is a right-to-work state. An employer can fire you anytime for no reason at all and that's acceptable in a right-to-work state.

[mudskipper77]

pardon me but unsa diay ng right-to-work nga state sis?

[Dorothea]

Right-to-work law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sa akong pag sabot bro, both parties (employer and employee) can terminate the employment at anytime, for any reason or for no reason at all.

[mudskipper77]

thanks sis... murag walay job security diay ni nga state.

[Tirong-say]

maka-distract man gud na sa focus sa work.=)

[kuyabog]

Iowa is a right-to-work state. An employer can fire you anytime for no reason at all and that's acceptable in a right-to-work state.

I am not supposed to be online.. but I can not help but be.. with express permission from my boss.. he is from IOWA.

He said.. the above statement is grossly wrong. Yes, they have the statute of right-to-work, but that does not mean, that "An employer can fire you anytime for no reason at all and that's acceptable in a right-to-work state"..

Right-to-work is a statute that addresses the issue of unions..

It is not me disagreeing with you Ms Dorothea, but my Iowan boss.. here looking over my shoulders out here in the cold.

However, with respect to the topic here, in a Middle Eastern company, contractor, enterprise, whatever, between a plain-looking applicant and a s3xy and attractive one applying for the same position, ... the later, almost always gets the job.. and more.

[balipseyev]

Nindot pag ana imu mga co-workers.... hehehe

[crossramz]

oh sh!t what in the world.

[Dorothea]

@kuyabog -- sakto ka bro. I looked at my contract when I got hired, ang buot diay nakong pasabot is "employment at-will". Right-to-work and employment at-will are two terms that mean different things. I got the two confused.

Employment At Will: What Does It Mean? | Nolo.com