Melissa Nelson with her husband, Steve, and their children in Fort Dodge, Iowa. (AP Photo/Courtesy Melissa Nelson)

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A dentist acted legally when he fired a longtime assistant because he had grown too attracted to her and worried he would try to start an affair, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed Friday in its second crack at the controversial case.

Coming to the same outcome as it did in December, but clarifying its rationale, the court found that bosses can fire employees that they and their spouses see as threats to their marriages. The court said such firings do not count as sex discrimination because they are motivated by feelings, not gender.

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