NY Employment Lawsuit: Can a Worker Be Fired for Being “Too Cute?”

A New York employment lawsuit alleging wrongful termination is making legal headlines. The plaintiff, a Manhattan message therapist and yoga instructor, maintains that she was fired because her boss’s spouse found her to be “too cute.”

While the case may seem unusual, there is precedent. In fact, the employer in the New York litigation will likely cite to a recent Iowa decision in which the court found that a dental assistant could be lawfully terminated simply because the boss (and his spouse) viewed her as too “tempting.”

In the Iowa case, Nelson v. Knight, Melissa Nelson had worked as a dental assistant for Dr. James Knight for over ten years, during which she maintained a purely professional relationship with her employer. However, Dr. Knight complained to Nelson that her clothing was too revealing and “distracting.” He also sent her several questionable text messages, to which she did not respond. This situation ultimately prompted Jeanne Knight to insist that her husband fire Nelson. Upon her termination, Dr. Knight explained that the “relationship had become a detriment to [his] family.” Nelson filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit, alleging that Dr. Knight terminated her because of her gender and would not have terminated her if she were male.

Although Iowa law makes it generally unlawful to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because of the employee’s sex, the Supreme Court of Iowa ultimately concluded that gender was not the motivating factor behind the termination. It agreed with the lower court that the nature of the relationship between Nelson and Dr. Knight and the perceived threat to Knight’s marriage were the root cause of the termination.

As noted by the court, “Usually our legal focus is on the employer’s motivation, not on whether the discharge in a broader sense is fair. Title VII and the Iowa Civil Rights Act are not general fairness laws, and an employer does not violate them by treating an employee unfairly so long as the employer does not engage in discrimination based upon the employee’s protected status.”

As in the Iowa suit,  the court’s decision in the New York suit will not turn on whether the employer acted badly, but whether he engaged in unlawful gender discrimination. Given the novelty of the issues, we will be closely following this case. Stay tuned for updates. For a further discussion of the Iowa case, please see “Can An Employee Be Terminated for Being Too “Tempting”?

If you have any questions about this case or would like to discuss your company’s employment policies and procedures, please contact me or the Scarinci Hollenbeck Labor and Employment Law attorney with whom you work.