In Nelson v. Knight, (IA Sup. Ct., Dec. 21, 2012), the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a decision by dentist James Knight to fire Melissa Nelson, a dental assistant who had worked for him for over ten years, after Knight's wife became concerned that Nelson posed a threat to their marriage. Knight was becoming personally attracted to Nelson and he feared he would eventually try to have an affair with her if he did not fire her. Knight reached the decision to fire Nelson after he and his wife consulted with the senior pastor of their church. Knight arranged for another pastor from the church to be present and witness the conversation in which he fired Nelson, and also a subsequent conversation he had with Nelson's husband about the firing. The state Supreme Court held that the firing did not amount to gender discrimination. AP reports on the decision.
The ALL-MALE Iowa court sees absolutely nothing wrong with this. Hopefully she takes this federal, and wins.
Another link for those with an aversion to the FOX/AP link used in the original article:
Maybe someone else can explain this to me - how on earth is it NOT discrimination to fire someone because you find them sexually attractive?
