Too Sexy for Iowa

Posted on | December 23, 2012 | 19 Comments

The Constitution doesn’t guarantee you the right to be sexy:

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled [Friday] that employers can fire employees towards whom they have an “irresistible attraction,” irrespective of the latter’s workplace conduct.
The 7-0 decision, handed down by the all-male court, came about as a result of a lawsuit filed by married dental assistant Melissa Nelson, 32, against her boss of ten years, Dr. James Knight, D.D.S., alleging gender discrimination.
She claimed Knight fired her at the behest of his wife, who became jealous of their out-of-office relationship, which included the exchange of personal, yet innocuous texts.
Knight readily admits that he fired Nelson, whom he said was the best dental assistant he’d ever had, after consulting with his pastor, because he found her tight-fitting clothes distracting and he felt his marriage was in jeopardy.

Neighboring states may need FEMA to help them cope with the expected influx of irresistibly hot refugees in tight skirts and low-cut tops.

UPDATE: Being a lawyer, Aaron Walker gets all into the legal and constitution aspects of Nelson v. James H. Knight DDS, P.C. et al.

Myself, I find the case interesting chiefly in its abundant opportunities for random sarcasm — and classic rock and roll.

Category: Iowa, Sex

Comments

19 Responses to “Too Sexy for Iowa”

CyberRabid
December 23rd, 2012 @ 9:22 am

In ancient times the masters would either sell or put their slaves to death for such offenses. Now they just fire us………… PROGRESS!
Mortimer Snerd
December 23rd, 2012 @ 9:35 am

I am a total libertarian on the right of private employers to hire and fire anyone for any reason without government interference. Period.
robertstacymccain
December 23rd, 2012 @ 9:50 am

Indeed: This one woman was fired because she was too hot, creating an employment opportunity for an ugly receptionist. Isn’t this something feminists are normally in favor of?
Badger Pundit
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:20 am

After a torrid week of blogging, seems you’ve fallen down on the job (too much “holiday special” eggnog?). What about PHOTOS of all involved? How difficult was it for Knight to resist Nelson, and vice versa?

Well, to do my part, here’s a photo of Nelson being ogled at Knight’s office: http://bit.ly/Tfetpk.

Oops; apparently that was just a stock photo (probably from a training manual on what not to do): http://www.examiner.com/article/melissa-nelson-legally-fired-for-irresistible-attraction-male-court-rules.

Okay, here’s Melissa Nelson: http://www.thefoothillsfocus.com/042812-UpscaleSingers.asp.

Oops; wrong Melissa Nelson. Okay, finally, here’s an article from the Georgia Daily News with photos of all involved, including the judge: http://bit.ly/WzkVqK. Apparently Georgia reporters are the ones we want on a story like this from Iowa.

Turns out that Knight, the defendant, is the only unattractive person in the bunch — a nerdy freak (complete with bad tattoos and a weird grin) one can be confident Nelson had no trouble resisting.
CitizenEgg
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:23 am

So the new rule is:
I’m your employer and a moral man
So if I get a bulge I can’t indulge
Your butt I have to can.

Got it.

My biggest beef against hot dental hygienists is that they always ask a question just before they shove sharp implements in my mouth.
richard mcenroe
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:43 am

This seems like the male/female equivalent of kicking the dog because you stubbed your toe on a chair.

HITH is a woman supposed to decide what’s too sexy for her boss? Hijabs and Burnooseseses? We could turn you and Dan Collins loose in WalMart, Stacy, but only one of you is gonna get all sweaty and stuttery. Where’s the line? Who decides?

The guy’s a creep, blaming the employee because his wife (perhaps with good reason, we don’t know) doesn’t trust him. At the very least, a decent man would have tried to find her another job first under the circumstances.
richard mcenroe
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:49 am

Having seen the picture of the creep, I feel comfortable in my previous assertion. That is the face of a man of limited character.

And I don’t know about you, but I ain’t going to a dentist with tattoos. Hep-C ain’t your friend.
David Lentz
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:51 am

Alas, poor Dr. Knight must be a republican.

Ok, I am not a lawyer. I do not suggest that the plaintiff and former employee, Mrs. Nelson, intended to create a hostile work enviroement. Yet her persence was creating a hostile enviroment., in that is was introducing tensions that would not ofherwise be present.

I support Dr. Knights’s right to fire his employees as he alone see fit. We are supposed to be free country. However the good doctor shoulld gone the B:J. Cinton route given Mrs. Nelson a glowing letter or reccomendation and help secure her another job That is how B.J. handled the Affair Lewinsky

On the larger perspective, it does seem likie the media reserves to the ilk of B.J. Clinton the right to use the Clinton playbook
Badger Pundit
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:54 am

“Freak,” “creep,” etc. — ordinarily I wouldn’t be making comfortable making judgments about people based on their appearance — but Knight had no problems taking negative action against Nelson based on her appearance.
M. Thompson
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:54 am

The problem with that video is the makeup on the dancers.
JeffS
December 23rd, 2012 @ 11:58 am

Knight is blaming someone else for his problems, which is the hallmark of a self-righteous jerk. Clearly, the Iowa Supreme Court didn’t want to meddle with our God given right to behave like jerks, hence their ruling.

God knows we don’t want to interfere with the prerogatives of celebrities, talking heads, politicians, and supreme court justices.
ThePaganTemple
December 23rd, 2012 @ 12:13 pm

What a goddamned sanctimonious piece of shit. Since he’s such a big christian maybe he should consider cutting out his eyeballs or maybe a couple of other balls.
Eric Ashley
December 23rd, 2012 @ 12:29 pm

So no women ever dressed provocatively on purpose aiming to get in bed with their boss who earns a lot more money than they do.

And decent guys never, ever find themselves in a position where ‘run away, run away’ is good advice. Tell that to Joseph of the Coat of Many Colors and Potiphar’s Slut, err Wife.

Original sin applies to both men and women.
McGehee
December 23rd, 2012 @ 12:40 pm

HITH is a woman supposed to decide what’s too sexy for her boss?

Feedback? From what I read about this case he told her she was dressing too provocatively for his comfort and apparently it didn’t sink in.
dba_vagabond_trader
December 23rd, 2012 @ 4:25 pm

So the asshole just figured out he had a temptation problem after employing this woman for ten years?
Bonzo
December 23rd, 2012 @ 5:08 pm

The dentist isn’t the one jumping to bogus conclusions here. His wife is. Let Melissa blame her.
Blair
December 23rd, 2012 @ 6:42 pm

Anyone know where she’s going to be working next? I’m looking for a new dentist. Mine just retired and sold his practice. Going to his office was like stepping into James Bond film. The new owner is a woman and she’s culling the herd.
SDN
December 23rd, 2012 @ 10:38 pm

You too? My former dentist’s staff looked like he hired the entire cast of Lewis Grizzard’s favorite example porno title, “Debbie Goes To The Dentist For A Filling And A Drilling”.
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