Imagine the following scenario. Your boss calls you in to the office, tells you that you have been a stellar employee, and then fires you because “you’re so darn good looking that I’m afraid I’ll have an affair with you.”
Your boss clearly failed to read the memo on “Best Employment Practices: Staff Motivation.” But is your termination legal?
According to the recent decision of the Iowa Supreme Court, your boss can legally terminate you because he (or she) finds you irresistible, even if you have not engaged in flirtatious or inappropriate behavior. The decision to terminate was not based on gender (which would be discriminatory and illegal), but instead on your boss’s feelings (which are not prohibited by law, no matter how irresponsible the feelings might be).
The case involved dentist James Knight who fired his assistant Melissa Nelson, who he acknowledged had been an exemplary employee for 10 years. Dr. Knight had developed an attraction to Ms. Nelson, and he (and, perhaps more importantly, his wife) believed that his attraction had become a threat to his marriage.
The Court’s latest decision reinstated the result of its opinion reached in December 2012, which the Court withdrew after the decision received nationwide publicity and criticism.
