July 16, 2013--Irresistible Attraction

There have been many law suits brought by female reporters and anchorwomen contesting that they lost their jobs because station managers discriminated against them because they had gained weight or simply aged and no longer looked cute and perky.

Now there is a related case with an unusual twist.

This one was brought by a male dentist's female assistant who claimed her boss fired her because she is a woman. So far familiar ground. Nothing new about that.

But last Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that the firing was not sex discrimination because it was motivated by feeling and not gender.

From the New York Times, here is some background--

The dentist's defense was that he let her go not because he discriminates against women but rather because she was too attractive.

Dr. James Knight (no age reported) said that because of her charms he was becoming smitten by her and worried he would start an affair. There is, however, nothing in the court record that would suggest the assistant, 33-year-old Melissa Nelson, would consent to an affair with him.

The court found that it is permissible for employers to fire someone "that they and their spouses see as threats to their marriages."

During the appeal, Nelson's lawyer asked the court to reconsider a December decision of the lower court in which the justices said that the issue 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 answer clearly is yes.

And this was affirmed by the state's highest court, though the irresistible attraction language was struck from the ruling. It now reads that Ms. Nelson was fired "because of the activities of her consensual personal relationship." Which from what I have been able to determine was nonexistent.

So, if this case gets to the Supreme Court, perhaps Justice Scalia will help us figure out whatever all of this means.

In the meantime, from Yelp, not reported in the New York Times, here is a sampling of typical comments from patients of Dr. Knight's:

I was visiting here [Fort Dodge] while on winter break. One of my molars had broken so I made an appointment. I figured I would need a crown or something. Instead I felt like I was in that movie "The Dentist." Glad I didn't get the procedure under "twilight." Creepy, rude and a bit handsy.

                                                         *    *    *

Awful, horrible service. The dentist is a bit of a creep too. Don't go there unless you want inappropriate, misogynistic comments about women. Likes to present himself as Christian and moral, but is actually the complete opposite.

                                                        *    *    *

Yikes, this guy seriously has urges he can barely control. I am married, a mother of 3, honestly not very attractive, and he kept telling me how he could barely stand being in the same room as me, that I could not be his patient even though I desperately need my root canal, because I was "making" him sin in his mind.