Late last year in this New Jersey employment law blog, we discussed the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that stated employers may fire workers because of their looks. The controversial ruling stemmed from a case involving a male dentist who fired his female dental assistant because she was just too attractive to have around the office.

The state’s supreme court ruling on the case received national attention, as well as criticism, and since we last discussed this case the court decided to review its own ruling.

Last week, the court, which includes only male justices, announced that its ruling will stand.

Before we discuss this further, let’s look back at the case. The 33-year-old dental assistant worked for the dentist, who is about 20 years older than her, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The dental assistant reportedly showed no romantic interest in her boss. Ultimately, upon his wife’s request, the dentist fired his assistant in 2010 in order to prevent the possibility of an extra-marital affair.

The former dental assistant filed a lawsuit, accusing the dentist of sex discrimination. The case was dismissed by a district court, which said the assistant was not fired because she is a woman, but because she was a threat to her boss’s marriage.

While the court has decided to stand by its ruling, albeit re-wording it a bit, the New York Times recently ran an interesting opinion piece in which it is argued that firing someone for being attractive is rooted in sexism.

When a woman is treated poorly because she may or may not tempt a man, the column argues, this is discrimination that is based on sex. The article compares the court’s ruling to hypothetically forcing female employees to completely cover themselves up in the workplace in order to avoid distracting men.

Of course, that is not the opinion that the court took. Although this ruling remains controversial, it is yet another example that not every unfair employment action is illegal. Nonetheless, those who feel that they have been discriminated against or harassed in the workplace should always seek legal counsel to learn whether legal recourse is possible.

Source: New York Times, “Fired for Being Beautiful,” Michael Kimmel, July 16, 2013

Source: MSNBC: Iowa Supreme Court OKs firing attractive people,” Steve Benen, July 12, 2013