All Male Iowa Supreme Court Defends Traditional Marriage,Tells Female Employees that If You Are Too Hot for the Boss’s Marriage, You’re Fired

Unbelievably, that is the law in Iowa as of last Friday.   The Iowa Supreme Court was recently reconfigured after special interest groups spent millions convincing voters the Court was not doing enough to defend marriage.   The Court apparently got the message and has voted 7-0 to allow male bosses to fire female employees whom bosses – or their wives – perceive to be a threat to their marriage.

[edit by JS; the decision is here:  Download Iowa Supreme Court Nelson  ]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/12/state-supreme-court-rules-irresistible-employees-can-be-fired/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/iowa-court-oks-firing-female-worker-irresistibly-attractive-article-1.1226068?localLinksEnabled=false

A century of American history has shown that when a group of people is discriminated against in one place they move somewhere else, usually north.  That works here.  Minnesota judges and lawmakers know better. 

Comments

[John David Galt]

When the boss's only other choices are to lose his own job or his marriage, what the heck else do you expect him to do? This decision is right.

[Richard Painter]

Check the facts of the case. Self control might be a good start.

[John David Galt]

Self-control isn't going to stop the wife from leaving.

[Stephen Gillers]

So does this mean an employer in Iowa can lawfully choose not to hire attractive men or women, not because they are men or women, but because they are attractive and could disrupt the stability of the workplace? Or perhaps it means only that once hired they can be fired if their presence then leads to jealousy of a spouse/partner of certain office colleagues.

[Richard Painter]

For the opinion, see Nelson v. Knight:

http://www.iowacourts.gov/supreme_court/recent_opinions/20121221/

From the opinion:
“Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing. On another occasion, Dr. Knight texted Nelson saying the shirt she had worn that day was too tight. After Nelson responded that she did not think he was being fair, Dr. Knight replied that it was a good thing Nelson did not wear tight pants too because then he would get it coming and going.”

This seems like sexual harassment to me. One can dispute whether the comments were welcome, but the firing certainly wasn't.

This and other factual aspects of the case raise different issues than initial hiring decisions based on physical attractiveness.

[Rick Underwood]

Can you say "Idiotic"?