WHAT TO DO ABOUT OFFICE ROMANCE: Should Employers Establish Office Romance Policies?

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION AT RISK?

Organizations without policies put themselves at risk especially as it relates to their supervisors actions. It’s called vicarious liability. As office romance increases, there are bound to be more reports of workplace violence cases associated with office romance. According to the Workforce Watch 1.7 million employees on average are the victims of violent crimes committed in the workplace. Employers have been held directly and vicariously liable for acts of violence committed by or against their employees.

WHY ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD TAKE ACTION

Most organizations have sexual harassment policies, but what about Violence in the Workplace policies or policies related to office romance? Facts reported in USA Today in an article entitled Lack of Clear Policy Can Be Messy, “As many as 20,000,000 workplace romances are taking place right now, maintain some estimates. A 2003 survey by the American Management Association found that 30% of managers polled have dated an office colleague. Nearly every manager said that it is acceptable to date a co-worker, as long as he or she is not a superior or a subordinate.” More recent statistics show in a survey by CareerBuilder.com in 2009, 40% of respondents revealed that they have dated a coworker, with 18% indicating two or more such relationships.

However, what if the office romance turns sour? Could it lead to or turn into sexual harassment? Could the romance turn into violence? If so, would a company be liable for not having a policy in place to help resolve the issue?

CASES RELATED TO OFFICE ROMANCE

Elisabeth “Betty” Broderick fatally shot her ex husband and his new wife. Betty had been married to her husband for 16 years when he dumped her and married his young legal assistant. This case happened in 1989, however do you think this situation could have been avoided if there were policies in place forbidding office romance?

Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty, lied about their relationship last summer during a police whistle-blower trial that has cost the cash-strapped city more than $9 million, USA Today reports. Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty denied during testimony that they had a sexual relationship. But a series of text messages revealed their engagement in romantic banter as well as planned and recounted sexual liaisons. Do you think Beatty and Kilpatrick would have engaged in romantic banter or text messages if a policy were in place?

Law.com reports:

Jury Awards $1.55 Million in Damages to Lawyer Sued for Sexual Harassment

An Alameda County, Calif., jury rejected the sexual harassment and wrongful termination claims a paralegal made against her former boss, Oakland, Calif., lawyer Thomas Ostly, instead awarding him $1.55 million in damages in his defamation counter-suit.

In his countersuit, Ostly accused Moreno of telling colleagues at the Eviction Defense Center in Oakland -- where she worked part-time -- that Ostly was a sexual predator. He said Moreno took advantage of their sexual relationship, taking long lunches and billing him for time spent doing online shopping. Would a policy have stopped this from happening?

PROFESSIONALS PERCEPTION OF OFFICE ROMANCE

What are the professionals saying about office romances? In the latest survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), an overwhelming 81% of HR professionals said they consider workplace romances dangerous because they could lead to conflict within the organization. Seventy-four percent said they believed it could present a legal liability.

THE SOLUTION

While company options on implementing policies to resolve these types of issues are many, I believe the best solution is to do what is logical, ethical, reasonable, affordable, enforceable, and legal.

The worst thing an organization can do is have no policies at all. The New York Employment Law Letter reports 20% of people in office romances stated that the romance turns into marriage or long term relationships. I don’t think companies can be successful in forbidding or banning office romances, and in some cases I think it may infringe upon an individuals’ freedom or possibly their rights. However, I would suggest the following:

An Antinepotism Policy prohibits spouses or relatives from working in the same department/division and prevents employees from supervising or directing coworkers related to them by blood or marriage.

A Workplace Violence Prevention Policy – This policy should be clear and concise on the organization’s forbiddance and non tolerance of violence. Use the example template on http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2009/08/19/template-workplace-violence-prevention-policy.

A Sexual Harassment Policy – Develop a policy that defines what sexual harassment is, explain that sexual harassment will not be tolerated, discuss consequences of violating the policy, train employees on what to do and how to report it, if it occurs. See examples on http://www.absolutehrsolutions.com/sexualharassmentpolicies.html.

Require a Consensual Relationship Agreement or Contract. This document explains that the relationship is voluntary, notifies both parties of the organizations sexual harassment policy and requires them to disclose or report complaints. It provides expected behavior guidelines, such as refraining from open displays of affection at work or retaliation if the relationship sours or comes to an end. Both parties must sign the agreement. Consult an attorney to determine if the contract is lawful and valid in your state. Make sure the contract states that the parties were not coerced or threatened to sign it. The contract must provide a disclosure that it is not intended to violate the Federal Right to Privacy Act, Civil Rights Act, the EEOC or any other Federal/State regulations, policies and laws.

Last but not least, provide supervisory training on proper protocol, communications, and workplace conduct with their subordinates. Explain that not only could they face termination and disciplinary actions, but they could be held legally responsible and liable for inappropriate actions with their staff and/or co-workers.

Let me hear your comments and thoughts about office romances. If you need guidance or assistance with conducting organization training or policy writing, feel free to email me at crossconultants@gmail.com or visit my website at www.crossconsultant.com.