Ms.
Nelson was Dr. Knight’s dental assistant.
Both were married and both had children.
The first ten years of their working relationship were great. Ms. Nelson had a job she loved and Dr. Knight
had a highly skilled assistant. Then, as
each of them began to disrespect professional boundaries, things got out of
hand.
Dr. Knight started complaining to Nelson that her
clothes were too tight. Rather than
wearing clothes that were more loosely fitting, Nelson argued with the doctor and
ignored his complaint. Later, Nelson
decided to talk to her boss about her unsatisfying sex life. Soon, the two began sending each other intimate
personal text messages.
Eventually, Dr.
Knight’s wife put the smack down on her husband and Ms. Nelson found herself in
an exit interview with Dr. Knight and his preacher. She left the meeting with one month’s severance
pay. Dr. Knight left the meeting to face
the expense of finding and training a new employee. Things got even more interesting when Nelson
filed a sexual discrimination suit that has garnered unflattering nationwide
attention for each party.
It’s hard to imagine any way that Dr.
Knight could have handled things more ineptly.
Regarding the tight clothes, most medical and dental practices have a written
dress code. When Ms. Nelson decided to argue about her wardrobe, Dr. Knight and
his office manager should have immediately met with Ms. Nelson to remind her that
Dr. Knight had the right to determine the appropriate attire for employees on
the job. Ms. Nelson could either comply
or leave. The office manager should have
documented the discussion in Nelson’s personnel file.
Nelson’s comments about her sex life should have led
to another meeting. Office policies typically
prohibit on-the-job discussions about sex, politics, and religion.
Instead of respecting professional boundaries, Dr.
Knight encouraged Nelson’s behavior. He asked questions about her sex life and
graphically described - in writing - his
reactions to her attractiveness. I’m
sure Nelson’s lawyers appreciated Knight’s documenting his feelings in text
messages.
When Knight finally decided to fire Nelson, his exit
interview strategy was another lesson in what not to do. An exit interview should take place in a
manner that will not embarrass the employee or publicize the fact that the
employer is firing the employee.
Knight’s decision to have his preacher attend the meeting could have
resulted in charges of invasion of privacy and mental distress. While employers should have a witness at an
exit interview, the head of personnel or office manager should fill that
role. Immediately after the interview,
the witness should escort the former employee off of the premises and document
the discussion between the employer and former employee.
Although Knight’s decision to give Nelson one month’s
severance pay was generous, he failed to require her to sign a release of
liability before giving her the money.
Having failed to obtain a release, he left himself open for the sexual discrimination
lawsuit that Nelson eventually filed.
North Carolina courts will punish
those who step outside of the bounds of an appropriate working
relationship. In a Burlington case, a
man ran off with a co-worker and divorced his wife. The wife won a $1 million judgment against
the co-worker. Significantly, professional malpractice insurance policies don't cover these damages. The IRS doesn't recognize them as legitimate deductions for income tax purposes. Finally, the bankruptcy court cannot discharge them. Perhaps the movie that
was inspired by the case garnered some money for the defendant in addition to
the bad publicity.
The Court dismissed Nelson’s
discrimination claim against Dr. Knight.
Although it didn’t approve of Knight’s behavior, it held that he wasn’t guilty of sexual
discrimination. It noted that he always
hired female staff members and that he replaced Nelson with another
female. Her argument that he only fired
her because he was sexually attracted to females fell on deaf ears. According to press reports, Nelson is now
working as a waitress.
Perhaps Hollywood will once again come
to the rescue. Let’s hope not.
