MARYLAND JOB LAW: "IRRESISTIBLE", AT-WILL, AND "FIRED" IN IOWA

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Iowa dental assistant Melissa Nelson worked closely alongside her boss, dentist Dr. James Knight, for ten years.  Apparently the pair worked too closely.

After consulting with his pastor, and upon the urging of his wife, dentist James Knight fired dental assistant Melissa Nelson, alleging she was too "attractive" and "irresistible".  Nelson sued Knight, citing the Iowa Civil Rights Act for authority.

The 7-member all-male Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a female dental assistant her male dentist boss found "attractive" and even "irresistible" can be "fired" because of her "irresistible attraction".

As Justice Edward M. Mansfield wrote in the decision and opinion for the Court on Friday, December 21st, 2012:

"The question we must answer is ... 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."

Such firings may not be fair, but they do not constitute unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, the decision read, siding with a lower court.  The Court concluded that the firing was essentially an "at-will" termination of Nelson.

 

Definition: Employment "at-will" means that an employee can be terminated at any time without any reason.  It also means that an employee can quit without reason.  Employers are not required to provide notice when terminating an at-will employee.

An attorney for Melissa Nelson, the fired employee, said the decision was wrong. Nelson had been employed by dentist Dr. James Knight for ten and a half years.

[www.cnn.com/2012/12/2012/Justice/ "Iowa Supreme Court: OK to fire 'irrestible' worker"; news.yahoo.com/12-22-2012/ "Court: 'Irrestistible' Workers Can Be Fired"; m.now.msn.com/12-24-2012/ "If You're Hot Enough To Be 'Irrestistible', You Can Be Fired In Iowa"; bigstory.ap.org/article/ "Iowa Court: Bosses Can Fire 'Irrestistible' Workers"; blog.zap2it.com/2012/12/"Melissa Nelson"; jobsearch.about.com/od/employmentlaw/g/atwill.htm]