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HR Quicklist
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Workplace romances: Should you be worried?
by Barbara M. Tapscott, Pingel & Templer, P.C.
The office gossip has churned out an interesting item: Two
employees are involved in a romance. From what you've heard, everybody
is blissfully happy -- for now. Although your first instinct may be
to ignore it and keep out of people's personal lives, be aware that
when love comes to the office, morale problems and litigation may
result.
Love at work
A recent survey by the
Society for Human Resource Management revealed that more than a quarter of
managers surveyed had company policies in place dealing with workplace
relationships. Why? Here are some of the potential problems:
- sexual harassment complaints;
- retaliation complaints after the romance ends;
- stalking complaints after the romance ends;
- co-workers' complaints of favoritism;
- decreased productivity by employees involved in the romance; and
- decreased morale of co-workers.
Be aware that the rosy romance can
turn sour. Further, if one of the partners decides to end the relationship and
the other party doesn't get the message, sexual harassment and/or retaliation
charges may result.
Sexual harassment problems
To
state a claim for sexual harassment, an employee traditionally was required to
establish either quid pro quo sexual harassment or the existence of a
hostile work environment. Quid pro quo means that submission to unwelcome
advances was an express or implied condition for employment, such as getting a
raise (or a promotion) or even keeping a job. Hostile work environment
claims involve allegations that the harassment was so severe and pervasive
that it altered the employee's conditions of employment and created an abusive
working environment.
Because romantic workplace relationships can form
the basis of sexual harassment and discrimination claims, you have an obligation
to ensure that the relationship remains voluntary and consensual, especially
when it involves a supervisor and a subordinate.
'Delicate
balance'
Workplace romances pose a difficult dilemma for Iowa
employers. On the one hand, you may need to know what is going on with the
lovebirds to protect your company from potential sexual harassment claims. But
on the other hand, you don't want to intrude on your employees' privacy
interests and face a potential invasion of privacy lawsuit.
Just as
favoritism based on workplace relationships can reduce company morale, so can an
overly intrusive policy regarding those relationships. To lessen the risk of a
privacy claim, any policy addressing workplace relationships should consider the
following:
- There should be a legitimate need for a policy.
- Keep any inquiries into employees' personal matters as limited as possible.
- Show respect for employees' privacy.
- Strictly limit discussion of personal information to those members of
management who really need to know.
Four romance policy options
There are at least four options you may consider in trying to
figure out what is best for your workplace.
One option is no policy, but
that obviously entails a risk of sexual harassment and other complaints.
A second option is to swing the opposite way. That is, forbid any dating
between employees -- all employees -- at any time. Although this policy
appears on its face to solve the problem, it may not be realistic in an
environment in which employees work long hours together and work becomes the
major source of a social life, particularly for younger employees. The policy
also encourages people to keep relationships a secret, which can lead to hidden
problems.
A third option is the more popular, middle-of-the-road
approach that calls for your intervention only when the workplace romance is
between a supervisor and a subordinate. That policy would require the supervisor
to inform you when he or she is involved in a relationship with a subordinate.
As soon as you are informed about the relationship, steps would be taken to
alter the chain of command so that the supervisor is no longer directing the
work (and evaluating and setting pay raises) of someone with whom he or she is
having a relationship.
Obviously, this approach may still disrupt the
workplace, but it can limit morale-damaging complaints of favoritism and
concerns about potential sexual harassment complaints. The prudent employer,
informed of the existence of a workplace romance, will discreetly, and in a
limited way, check with the parties to the relationship to ensure that it
continues to be voluntary and consensual. It goes without saying that it is
important for you to have a sexual harassment policy in place to provide an
outlet in case the relationship sours and the aggrieved party feels that
harassment has become an issue.
The last option selected by some
employers looking to limit their liability is to adopt what are known as "love
contracts," which require both parties to sign a contract acknowledging their
consent to the relationship. Love contracts are useful in that they are evidence
that the relationship between a supervisor and subordinate was welcome and
voluntary.
Should the path of romance turn rocky, however, the love
contract provides no guarantee that one party may not find the relationship
unwelcome at some point and the attentions of the other party harassing. No
contract can require a person to waive potential claims that have not yet
arisen. As a result, the love contract doesn't protect you from what may happen
when the romance sours. An unhappy party may still file a lawsuit claiming that
after the originally consensual relationship ended, he or she was subjected to
harassing behavior.
Bottom line
There is no clear
answer about what option, if any, is best for your workplace. What is clear,
however, is that ignoring the existence of a workplace romance may mean future
problems for your company.
Copyright 2001 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. This article is an excerpt from IOWA EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER. IOWA EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER does not attempt to offer solutions to individual legal problems nor does it provide legal advice. The newsletter provides general information on current developments on Iowa employment issues. Questions about individual legal problems should be addressed to the attorney of your choice. Corporate Educational Services does not provide legal advice on specific legal problems.
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