Dentist Found Not Guilty in Sex Discrimination Case

LEAD: In the case of Melissa Nelson versus Dr. James Knight, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on July 12, 2013, that Knight was not guilty of sex descrimination. Nelson filed the claim after Knight fired her in early 2010.

Nelson had been hired by Knight in 1999 and worked for him as a dental assistant for 10 and a half years. Towards the end of her employment and the dental practice, Nelson and Knight's relationship began to change. According to the Justice, Mansfield, “On several occasions during the last year and a half when Nelson worked in the office, Dr. Knight complained to Nelson that her clothing was too tight and revealing and 'distracting.'"

The court document went on to reveal that during the last 6 months that Nelson was employed by Knight, they began texting each other. Nelson did not text Knight in a sexual or suggestive way, but Knight admitted to telling her, “that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing,” as well as asking her how frequently she experienced orgasms.

Dr. Knight’s wife Jeanne Knight, who also worked at the dental practice, found out about the two’s texting conversations while her husband was away on vacation with their children. She looked up his phone records after suspicions about he and Nelson’s relationship after experiencing their interactions at work. Jeanne grew increasingly jealous and pressured Dr. Knight to fire Nelson.

Nelson insisted on several occasions that she had never flirted with Knight or encouraged his sexual advances. The court pointed out though, that both parties initiated the texting conversations, and Nelson never stated being uncomfortable with the way Knight spoke to her. According to the court, whether the relationship between Dr. Knight and Nelson was sexual in nature or not, it was consensual between both parties.

According to the court statement, ““At the end of the workday on January 4, 2010, Dr. Knight called Nelson into his office. He had arranged for another pastor from the church to be present as an observer. Dr. Knight, reading from a prepared statement, told Nelson he was firing her.”

Knight's reasoning for firing Nelson was that he was scared that he would attempt to have an affair with her if she continued working for him. Nelson insisted that this was far from anything she intended and thought of Dr. Knight as a father figure rather than a sexual interest.

After finding out about her firing, Nelson’s husband Steve Nelson, called Dr. Knight and asked to speak with him about it. The document states that, “ Dr. Knight said [to Steve] he was worried he was getting too personally attached to [Melissa]. Dr. Knight told Steve Nelson that nothing was going on but that he feared he would try to have an affair with her down the road if he did not fire her.”

After this, Nelson took Dr. Knight to court to sue him for sex discrimination. And so, Justice Mansfield stated that the question being asked was, “Can a male employer terminate a long-time female employee because the employer’s wife, due to no fault of the employee, is concerned about the nature of the relationship between the employer and the employee?”

Mansfield continued on to say, “For the reasons stated herein, we ultimately conclude the conduct does not amount to unlawful sex discrimination in violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act.”

According to the court, Nelson was fired because she was a perceived threat to Knight’s Marriage, rather than because she was a woman. Nelson argued however, that in the end, she would not have been fired if she were a man.

Nelson claimed she, “did not do anything to get herself fired except exist as a female.”

The Iowa Supreme Court drew from several other similar cases when making their decision. Using these cases as a reference, the court decided that Nelson was fired due to Dr. Knight’s spouse’s objection to his and Nelson’s relationship- not her sex.

All of the judges concurred, except Cady, C.J., Wiggins and Hecht, JJ., who concurred specially.

Together, Wiggins and Hecht, JJ. wrote, “Melissa Nelson set forth a claim for sex discrimination recognized by law, but the facts of the case did not establish the claim,” they continued to say, “Differential treatment based on an employee’s status as a woman constitutes sex discrimination, while differential treatment on account of conduct resulting from the sexual affiliations of an employee does not form the basis for a sex-discrimination claim.”

And so, the judges agreed overall and Knight was found not guilty. However unfortunate the circumstances for Nelson, there was no evidence of her being fired directly due to her sex, only due to her perceived relationship with Dr. Knight, which is not against the law.