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Could you imagine being fired for being too attractive?

According to Yahoo!, one Iowa dental assistant was let go because her boss found her too "irresistible" and feared having an affair with her.

But there was one problem: Melissa Nelson was not attracted to her boss, Dr. James Knight.

The two never had a sexual relationship or sought one, according to court documents, however in the final year and a half of Nelson's employment, Knight began to make comments about her clothing being too tight or distracting.

"Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing," the justices wrote.

When she was fired, Nelson sued Knight for gender discrimination. On Friday, an all-male Iowa State Supreme Court confirmed a lower court's decision that Knight was within his legal rights.

Court documents show that Nelson and Knight exchanged text messages, a majority of which were mundane. However, in one text, Knight asked Nelson "how often she experienced an orgasm."

Knight's wife discovered the text messages and ordered him to fire Nelson. After consulting with the couple's pastor, Knight fired Nelson to preserve his marriage.

Knight maintains that Nelson was a good employee, but was fired for behavioral and dress issues.

KTAR.com,

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  • Abuse
    yrreta wrote...
    Good for him
    December 27, 2012 5:03 am
    You want to dress in a provocative manner, save it for the street or your night out on the town. Unless your a hooker or a stripper, most provocative clothing has no place in the professional business world. But, we live in a world of double standards...
  • Abuse
    wrote...
    he owns the business
    December 27, 2012 7:27 am
    since it's his business and dental practice, doesn't he still have a right in America to choose his employees? and if they don't act, dress, or put out the message that he wants he business to represent, then he should have the right to fire her and find someone that does what he wants. he's the one paying the salary!!! he should get what he wants to pay for! i give him 2 thumbs up for caring enough about his marriage to do this.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    Message to women from Dr. Knight
    December 27, 2012 7:50 am
    and the all male Iowa State Supreme Court: Expect to be fired if we get a hard on watching you work and our wives finds out about this. If you see a bulge in our collective pants, you know that you need to ugly yourself up some and try not to bend over while you are working. Okay? No doubt the commentators who favor this decision would be okay with their wives, daughters, mothers getting fired from their decade long jobs and losing their sorely needed income because a pervert boss is having unrestrained sexual fantasies about them.
  • Abuse
    yrreta wrote...
    You are right Micho
    December 27, 2012 9:01 am
    if my spouse dresses like a tart in the red light district, probably shouldn't be teaching at that school then, time to go get a job as a stripper, they make better money anyway. This guy doesn't sound like a pervert, he sounds like someone having a moral dilemma and he dealt with it in a mature way seeking input from his wife and pastor, as opposed to making unwanted sexual advances towards this person, or stalking and raping her. Maybe she carries a gun?
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    The woman in question wore standard
    December 27, 2012 9:10 am
    dental office scrubs to work. Her boss texted her telling to take a gander at the bulge in his pants to judge whether her scrub selection was right for the day. He said nothing to wife and pastor till he got busted by his old lady. This guy impresses you as morally upstanding? If a boss is so morally weak that he can't trust himself to work around employees he finds attractive, he shouldn't hire them in the first place. Instead this guy wrecks this woman's life because he can't trust himself to e faithful to his put upon wife. Do you share his weakness?
  • Abuse
    yrreta wrote...
    What story did you read Micho...
    December 27, 2012 9:48 am
    "Court documents show that Nelson and Knight exchanged text messages, a majority of which were mundane. However, in one text, Knight asked Nelson "how often she experienced an orgasm."" That's a far cry from "texted her telling to take a gander at the bulge..." Dude, you need to read the story before you post. Yes, I share his weakness Micho, want to go have a drink later big boy? Court ruled in his favor, the point is moot.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    I read the court decision, as well as a dozen
    December 27, 2012 10:08 am
    or so news articles from different media outlets. Odd that you should miss this important fact. From the court decision: "Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing." But then it doesn't really matter to you if you wife/daughter/mother's pervo employer conducted himself in the same way towards them. I think that men who make lifelong commitments of fidelity to their reciprocating spouses will understand that they need to exercise restraint in a world of ever present temptations. You don't?
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    BTW, yrreta I'm surprised that you would
    December 27, 2012 10:15 am
    not be taken aback and worse if your wife/daughter/mother's boss asked them about their orgasms. My female relatives would forcefully clarify boundaries right on the spot, and the boss could expect a scene causing visit from me unless someone restrained me. I would not take a gun, though.
  • Abuse
    yrreta wrote...
    Micho
    December 27, 2012 1:04 pm
    I don't have as much time to troll the web as you do. I thought we were commenting on the story listed here. Ever read Cosmopolitan? They ask women about orgasms all the time, no one seems to mind then? Sounds like a perfectly reasonable question when asked in a non-pornographic way. When was the last time you gave/had one? I'm so glad I found you, you have truly provided me with some great entertainment. Mom's calling, gotta go now.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    Yrreta appears not to understand
    December 27, 2012 8:20 pm
    that reading articles in a women's magazine is actually a different matter than having your employer inquire into your private, personal sexual intimacies. One hopes that yrreta has never been unwittingly guilty of sexual harrassment.

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