Don't get too fit or you can be fired!

NormalSaneFLGuy

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/12/27/yelp-users-slam-dentist-who-fired-his-assistant-for-being-irresistible/?test=latestnews

Some quotes from the article:

"Melissa Nelson, a 32-year-old married mother of two, had worked for James Knight for 10 years, and he considered her a stellar worker. But in the final months of her employment, he complained that her tight clothing was distracting -- once telling her that if his pants were bulging that was a sign her clothes were too revealing, according to the Supreme Court opinion."

and

"On Dec. 21, the court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an "irresistible attraction," even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong."

NormalSaneFLGuy

Every woman on here should write an e-mail in complaint. The courts are killing your human rights.

LetsMakeupXtina

this is Nucking Futz!!! I cant believe what I am reading here.

KenosFeoh

What I take out of that is this: Don't wear tight and/or revealing clothing to work.

RekindledRose

Actually, if you read the story carefully you'll see that the dentist asked his assistant not to wear such revealing clothing and she wouldn't dress in a less provocative manner.

So yeah. Fire the assistant, save your marriage. It's as easy as that.

If the woman had any common sense she could have dressed more conservatively and still been attractive, and then looked for another job. Just because you have 'it' doesn't mean that a professional office is where you should flaunt it, even if you have been working there for 10 years.

NormalSaneFLGuy

What I take out of that is this: Don't wear tight and/or revealing clothing to work.

Too bad that's not what their decision said nor what the legal precedent this case will set.
You can take anything out of it you want, but you have to step back and realize what the long term effects will be.

LetsMakeupXtina

sure, dont let your "girls" hang out at work.. but if you have worked hard for the body you have, and cant wear tight form-fitting work attire then that is ridiculous... I am not going to kill myself to get the best body I can only to wear baggy pants and a t-shirt.

Nicki_101

If she had a right to wear it, then he had a right to fire her. Isn't that what democracy is all about? Didn't we fight for equal rights?

BrettPGH

It's very much the opposite where I work.

I work with a lot of older women. And they all seem to like it when I wear tight clothing. In fact they've started to request it. They make comments when I'm at the water cooler. Some of the supervisors call me into their office.. and make me shut the door.



Sometimes at night... I cry.

BlueObsidian

So yeah. Fire the assistant, save your marriage. It's as easy as that.

Seriously? If this guy can't control himself, how is getting rid of one attractive woman from his life going to save his marriage? Would you want to stay married to a man who had zero self control? It is HIS responsibility to not cheat on his wife, it's not the responsibility of women to protect him from himself.

If you want to be in a committed relationship, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to stay committed and faithful.

LetsMakeupXtina

if anything what I gather from the article is that he has a problem with sexual harassment and is guilty of it at his workplace.. that is just me though.

MidwestAngel

It's very much the opposite where I work.

I work with a lot of older women. And they all seem to like it when I wear tight clothing. In fact they've started to request it. They make comments when I'm at the water cooler. Some of the supervisors call me into their office.. and make me shut the door.



Sometimes at night... I cry.

I'm one of his bosses

jamiem1102

It's very much the opposite where I work.

I work with a lot of older women. And they all seem to like it when I wear tight clothing. In fact they've started to request it. They make comments when I'm at the water cooler. Some of the supervisors call me into their office.. and make me shut the door.



Sometimes at night... I cry.

I'm one of his bosses

I'm the one with my ear pressed up against the door.

wibutterflymagic

I saw that a few days ago and I just can't comprehend it. So apparently it's our fault if the men around us can't control their own actions. Unbelievable! That's the same thing as saying it's the woman's fault for getting raped because she was attractive. There is a lot that isn't discussed in the article but the main idea to me seems to be that it's a womans fault for being a woman and men don't have to take any responsibility or control their own thoughts and actions.

LittleMiss_WillLoseIt

It's very much the opposite where I work.

I work with a lot of older women. And they all seem to like it when I wear tight clothing. In fact they've started to request it. They make comments when I'm at the water cooler. Some of the supervisors call me into their office.. and make me shut the door.



Sometimes at night... I cry.

I'm one of his bosses

And she's a very good boss......


I'll admit she made me post this! *hides in the corner*

jenilla1

if anything what I gather from the article is that he has a problem with sexual harassment and is guilty of it at his workplace.. that is just me though.

It's not just you. It's me, too! I agree.

msbunnie68

The response I read from the assistant in question was that she wore round neck tshirts or long sleeved tshirts and scrubs...

don't know about you guys but scrubs are hardly revealing or tight fitting!

clarkeje1

I think that if her boss had told her that her clothes were inappropriate and she continued to wear them then that would be grounds for dismissal. Also if there was a dress code posted and her clothes were violating their workplace policy then dismissal would be acceptable. Just for being hot and distracting....uh no that aint right.

psfr

If she had a right to wear it, then he had a right to fire her. Isn't that what democracy is all about? Didn't we fight for equal rights?

It's a right to fire someone? So I can fire my employees who have different spiritual or political beliefs than I have? I can fire someone for being gay? Straight? For belonging to a certain church? For not going to church? For wearing a ponytail? For eating sushi?

Lalouse

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/12/27/yelp-users-slam-dentist-who-fired-his-assistant-for-being-irresistible/?test=latestnews

Some quotes from the article:

"Melissa Nelson, a 32-year-old married mother of two, had worked for James Knight for 10 years, and he considered her a stellar worker. But in the final months of her employment, he complained that her tight clothing was distracting -- once telling her that if his pants were bulging that was a sign her clothes were too revealing, according to the Supreme Court opinion."

and

"On Dec. 21, the court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an "irresistible attraction," even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong."

Why are you misquoting this?

It's not the US Supreme Court.. it's an IOWA court (all male by the way, our supreme court thankfully has 3 women on it)

Second, the firing was related to "irresistable attraction". Employees are required to dress in certain ways (think uniforms, business suits, etc..) and if you walk in looking like a homeless guy or you walk in with your boobs handing out, they have a right to tell you to dress differently. And, if you want to keep your job, you'll do as they say.

Additionally, the court ruled the way it did because his wife ask that she be fired, and they believe that he has the ability to honor that relationship and listen to his wife.

That said, this dentist sounds like a total creeper and if I'm sure he's sexually harassed plenty of women. He should probably be thrown in jail.

sherrirb

Dress provacative and wear tight form-fitting clothing on your own time, you have 16 hours of the day to do that. When someone is paying you to do a job, they have the right to set a standard of work attire.

RobynMWilson

A few weeks before I got laid off, I was told that in the summer I couldn't wear sleeveless shirts anymore (it was a casual office, where the owners wore jeans and flip flops and they never stated a problem with how I dress). The office manager made a mention of my "cute figure" in that convo, although it was 2008 so I don't remember verbatim. She was heavyset and never took my advice how to lose the weight. I remember my friend, who was friends with her brother, telling me before I started the job that she's sensitive about her weight and not talk too much about my working out, etc.

I got laid off for "poor work performance" (they knew if they fired me I was hiring a lawyer). Funny, I got hired as a bookkeeper and by the time I was laid off 3 yrs later I was drawing up Triple Net Commercial/Industrial Leases.

I didn't care. I collected and no longer had the hellish 52 mile round-trip commute each day and was able to ditch the micromanaging ninny that was my office mgr lol

RobynMWilson

PS...I did NOT dress like a hooch or slut. I wore nice jeans and nothing too tight, just like everyone else in the office.

RekindledRose

If she had a right to wear it, then he had a right to fire her. Isn't that what democracy is all about? Didn't we fight for equal rights?

Exactly.

She was asked to wear less provocative clothing. She didn't, that's a fact that both sides agreed on.

*shrugs* The dentist showed restraint and self control in that he chose to fire his assistant rather than attempt to get in her pants. I commend the man. He understood what his weakness is and avoided it, just like I don't keep ice cream in my freezer any longer, lol!

And yes, psfr, you can fire someone for having a different religion or belief than you do. About 10 years ago a Muslim boss successfully fired his employee for repeatedly eating BLT sandwiches at her desk. Pork is against their religion, and they asked her to stop and she didn't.

It's called a democracy. It's called capitalism and freedom to believe what you want. Private business owners have a different set of rules than government workers.

move257

"he complained that her tight clothing was distracting -- once telling her that if his pants were bulging that was a sign her clothes were too revealing".....

Is this guy serious?!! What a d-bag!!! No way this is real!!! insane!

amber1533

Wow! I don't think that is justified at all, it just shows that as far as we want to say we are "progressive and accept people as they are" it's very clear our nation does not.

Regardless of his "uncontrollable urges" and desire to save his marriage, it was and would never be a justified firing regardless of the courts.

amber1533

Re-reading the article it wasn't actually about her clothing, she engaged in a more personal intimate relationship (by texting) with him, he got caught and his wife told him to fire her, he needed a reason and the best he could think of was that he was attracted.

That is the big picture...

NormalSaneFLGuy

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/12/27/yelp-users-slam-dentist-who-fired-his-assistant-for-being-irresistible/?test=latestnews

Some quotes from the article:

"Melissa Nelson, a 32-year-old married mother of two, had worked for James Knight for 10 years, and he considered her a stellar worker. But in the final months of her employment, he complained that her tight clothing was distracting -- once telling her that if his pants were bulging that was a sign her clothes were too revealing, according to the Supreme Court opinion."

and

"On Dec. 21, the court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an "irresistible attraction," even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong."

Why are you misquoting this?

It's not the US Supreme Court.. it's an IOWA court (all male by the way, our supreme court thankfully has 3 women on it)

Second, the firing was related to "irresistable attraction". Employees are required to dress in certain ways (think uniforms, business suits, etc..) and if you walk in looking like a homeless guy or you walk in with your boobs handing out, they have a right to tell you to dress differently. And, if you want to keep your job, you'll do as they say.

Additionally, the court ruled the way it did because his wife ask that she be fired, and they believe that he has the ability to honor that relationship and listen to his wife.

That said, this dentist sounds like a total creeper and if I'm sure he's sexually harassed plenty of women. He should probably be thrown in jail.

1) I copy and pasted directly, no misquotes
2) It was upheld by Iowa Supreme Court
3) Courts will examine other states precedent sometimes when making their own decisions
4) To say it was for his "relationship" with respect to his wife and that it had nothing to do with the fact that the employee was an attractive female is completely silly.
5) After the fact, when in court, they said part of the reason was that they text messaged. They never said it was sexual or intimate. In fact it was "mostly about personal matters, such as their families."

quirkytizzy

*shrugs* The dentist showed restraint and self control in that he chose to fire his assistant rather than attempt to get in her pants. I commend the man. He understood what his weakness is and avoided it, just like I don't keep ice cream in my freezer any longer, lol!

A person doesn't get commended for that. It's expected that someone won't sexually assault someone just because they've got a boner. That's called being a regular, respectful human being.

You don't get a cookie for that.

FrancesGallagher

That dentist's female patients are in danger if they aren't all very plain and probably "old". This is an unbelievable story, I read the news article to. Did it take the dentist ten years to make up his mind he couldn't handle being near this assistant ? Sad !!!

NormalSaneFLGuy

*shrugs* The dentist showed restraint and self control in that he chose to fire his assistant rather than attempt to get in her pants. I commend the man. He understood what his weakness is and avoided it, just like I don't keep ice cream in my freezer any longer, lol!

A person doesn't get commended for that. It's expected that someone won't sexually assault someone just because they've got a boner. That's called being a regular, respectful human being.

You don't get a cookie for that.

FR sent.