By Priscilla Kohl| HRTools.com Business Writer
Do you know of a happily married couple who met and fell in love at work? Most likely if you don’t know anyone yet, given time, the answer will be ‘yes.’
Some people even consider the workplace a great place to find a mate: After all, it is convenient and working relationships also allow for sufficient time and experiences to get to know and learn about another person. So given that most workers spend a third of the day at work, opportunities and time are obviously there.
Love is all you need—for a romantic relationship—until, of course, things get thorny and prickly; as can happen when a workplace romance does not go so well.
Ask any human resource professional or employment law expert. While love can be blind, employers can ill afford to close their eyes to the many risks associated with workplace romances.
Miscommunications and misunderstandings can lead to legal-landmines.
Picture this: A senior executive (male or female) invites a lower-ranking employee of the opposite sex for lunch at an upscale restaurant.
This can be a recipe for potential disaster, and here’s why: When career expectations and personal expectations clash, emotions can charge up a ‘wronged’ employee to take legal action.
To briefly explain—in the above example, the lower ranking employee might have expectations for career enhancement while the senior executive has expectations for pursuing a personal relationship.
This is when trouble can start. Subsequent misunderstandings, misinterpretations and potential misuse of power can be volatile mixes, which ultimately can result in the legal definition of a hostile-working environment.
How is such an environment defined? To help answer that question, the following is from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Web site:
EEOC's Guidelines define two kinds of sexual harassment: "quid pro quo," in which "submission to or rejection of [unwelcome sexual] conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual," and "hostile environment," in which unwelcome sexual conduct "unreasonably interferes with an individual's job performance" or creates an "intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Employers should also know that hostile work conditions and interpretations can vary, and are normally handled on a case-by-case basis.
For example, consider a highly publicized 2005 California Supreme Court case (Miller vs. Department of Corrections, SL4097). On the basis of EEOC guidelines on sexual favoritism, California’s highest court ruled that even though the workplace romance was consensual, the situation in this case created a hostile work environment for other employees.
What might an employer want to consider before Cupid’s arrow strikes?
Some human resource professionals suggest that employers consider their company cultures when they review or develop guidelines that cover workplace romances.
Regardless of guidelines, however, employers can find themselves caught off guard or in risky positions should an employee decide to claim harassment when a relationship does not work out the way they expected. A few organizations forbid employee dating and others simply discourage it. Some employers prohibit dating by employees within the same department.
Zack Hummel, a partner in the New York office of Bryan Cave LLP, is quoted in a human resource association article, as saying, “I do encourage clients to have policies that prohibit those in close relationships from supervising each other.” (The article is titled, “When Love Leads to Marriage, What’s an Employer to Do?” published on Feb. 12, 2009.)
Finally, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “Only 9 percent of 493 HR professionals said dating among employees was prohibited.”
Do workers share responsibility for workplace romances?
Sure, they should; but, as they say, legal and moral issues/responsibilities can be entirely different matters.
Workers involved in a romantic relationship should be discreet, advises business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter.
“People let their guard down” around Valentine’s Day, she said, and “they can be overwhelmed with the emotion of the holiday and say or do inappropriate things at the office.”
Matters of the heart are never simple. Controlling human behaviors in the workplace is much like mastering the classic children’s pop-up toy. When you think you’ve figured out a way to control one type of problem, another pops up in its place.
For instance, when employers develop a zero-tolerance policy on workplace romances, what happens if the highest ranking officer in the organization develops a dating relationship with an employee? In other words, employers must be prepared to enforce policies consistently. Otherwise, inconsistencies might prompt employees to file disparate-treatment claims on the basis of sex, race or other prohibited bases.
Note: None of the above information should be construed as legal advice. Sexual harassment is a complicated legal issue and employers are encouraged to seek legal counsel when developing workplace dating policies. For general information, refer to a sample dating policy in the HRTools.com Resource Center.
Legal Disclaimer
The information contained in this document is for general, informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. This information is not a substitute for the guidance of a professional and should not be relied upon in reference to any specific situation without first seeking the advice of a qualified HR professional and/or legal counsel regarding applicable federal, state or local laws. HRTools, Insperity and their respective employees make no warranties, express or implied, and make no judgments regarding the accuracy of this content and/or its applicability to a specific situation. A reference or link to another website is not an endorsement of that site or service.