Assignment 1: Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study
Diane Jackson
Dr. Yemer, H.
Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Bus 520
January 23, 2013

Consensual Relationship Agreements Argument For

Workplace romances can lead to accusations of poor judgment, breaches of ethics, favoritism, lost productivity, poor employee morale, sexual harassment claims and even workplace violence. Such concern has led an increasing number of companies to institute "consensual relationship agreements," also known as "love contracts." (Kurtz, 2012)

People dating each other in the workplace can wreak havoc on an organization, especially a small organization. Attitudes toward workplace romance are changing -- at least for millennial employees. A whopping 84 percent of workers ages 18-29 say they would have a romantic relationship with a co-worker, compared to just 36 percent of Generation X workers (ages 30-46) and 29 percent of Boomers (age 47-66), according to a recent Workplace Options survey. And 40 percent of Millennials say they would have no problem dating their supervisors (compared to just 10 percent of older generations).
More than one-third of employees aren’t sure if there’s a company policy about dating at the office. If your business doesn't have such a policy, it’s time to consider it. Nearly half the employees surveyed say office romances are going on at work, and even if they don’t care, you need to be concerned about sexual harassment charges and complaints about perceived (or real) employee favoritism. Therefore it's essential for HR professionals to accept the likelihood of office romance and have policies and procedures in place to address it when it occurs. (Kurtz, 2012)

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 2006 Workplace Romance Poll a whopping 72 percent of companies have no policy regarding workplace romance. (Kurtz, 2012)

HR professionals should not be the ones to draft a company's love contracts, but instead should have them drawn up by a labor and employment attorney familiar with relevant jurisdictions' sexual, harassment laws and laws protecting employee privacy.

One reason for asking employees to sign a Consensual Relationship Agreement (CRA) is that it would decrease sexual harassment litigation risk. Once a workplace romance fails, the subordinate employee sometimes claims to have been pressured into the relationship. A love contract, signed after the relationship has commenced, can effectively refute such claims as it provides compelling evidence the subordinate employee entered the relationship voluntarily. (Tyler, 2008)

A CRA is a relatively painless way to mitigate risk of unlawful harassment liability. Though they aren't bulletproof, but it is more likely that a judge would believe the relationship was consensual if it is in writing.

If an employee refuses to sign an employer could make it a condition of employment. The way an employer could advise approaching employees about signing love contracts is by showing them how the documents protect them, too, in the event a relationship goes bad.

Another reason for a company having employees sign a CRA is reducing perceptions of favoritism. Favoritism or the appearance of it isn't just poor employee relations. In some cases, it is a cause for sexual harassment lawsuits. In California, the interpretation of sexual harassment laws includes third parties for example if an employee views a supervisor as favoring a subordinate, the employee can sue the company and the supervisor personally for sexual harassment.

And lastly a good reason for having employees sign a CRA is to create a forum to discuss professional workplace behavior. A CRA provides a forum for HR professionals to talk to dating employees about what is appropriate and inappropriate workplace behavior. It helps to remind employees to be sensitive to their co-workers, especially concerning displays of physical affection, verbal affection or lovers' quarrels. Just because it is an office romance doesn't mean it should be conducted in the office. It would also help to remind dating employees of the lack of privacy in the workplace. When employees bring their relationships into the workplace, they don't have a right of privacy. However, this doesn't mean the employer has the right to ask about intimate details, but when you are in the workplace, the employer has the right to set reasonable rules. (Tyler, 2008)

HR should caution dating employees not to instant message or e-mail each other about intimate issues. Employees should be encouraged to only speak privately and in person about personal issues.

It is a good idea to also warn dating employees that this guideline is applicable at home as well. Most people don't realize that if there is a lawsuit, everything on their home computers could also be discoverable. As well as personal e-mails sent to each other can be subpoenaed. All of that would be considered as evidence.

Consensual Relationship Agreements Argument Against

Before an organization adopts the use of Consensual Relationship Agreements, it might want to listen to critics who argue that they can be intrusive, ineffective and unnecessary, and can cause as many problems as they solve.

Employees may regard them as an invasion of privacy. They could put HR in an awkward position. CRAs can put HR professionals into the tasteless position of keeping track of who dates whom. Managing employees' personal relationships is not the best utilization of their time. CRAs sometimes known as a 'love contract' however calling it this is the kind of verbiage that gives HR a bad name. (Tyler, 2008)

Consensual Relationship Agreements do not always protect against the most problematic romantic relationships. Romantic relationships most likely to cause problems for the company are those in which the participants will be the least likely to agree to sign a CRA. They are ineffective with the most potentially destructive relationships for instance, a chief executive officer having an affair with a vice president, and both of them being married. The cases that would bite the company are the ones in which the people wouldn't sign a CRA anyway. (Tyler, 2008)

A case in point, in November 2007, Mark W. Everson was forced to resign as president and CEO of the American Red Cross because of his relationship with a female subordinate. Everson was married at the time. It is unlikely he would have signed a CRA.

A Consensual Relationship Agreement can be very awkward to request, especially if one of the participants is having an extramarital affair and is understandably reluctant to sign such an admission of his or her extracurricular activities.

A CRA can also create additional paperwork. HR professionals, sometimes think the solution of solving the ills of poor management are pieces of paper like this.

Consensual Relationship Agreements aren't for every company there are other alternative tools available to mitigate sexual harassment litigation risks. HR professionals could consider creating no-fraternization policies that clearly outline acceptable behavior within the organization as well as consequences for employees who cross those boundaries.

An organization that pretends these problems do not or cannot exist in the workforce could be setting itself up for potential major liability with punitive damages, costly legal fees, poor publicity and an effect on the workforce morale. Most importantly, be sure that any policies are enforced consistently with employees at all levels. (Tyler, 2008)

Ethical Principles
The main ethical issue is ensuring that employees are treated equitably and humanely, receive equal opportunities for career advancement, and do not abuse power. This challenge can be met by developing a clear, written workplace consensual relation agreements based on legal guidelines.
Conflicts of interest, or the appearance of conflicts of interest, may arise in connection with consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships. Furthermore, such a relationship may give others cause to believe that unfair advantage accrues to the employees in the relationship.
Another possible ethical principle in a consensual romantic and/or sexual relationship involves a power differential and the potential for serious consequences.

Other option to Consensual Relationship Agreements
Effective communication is an option to written consensual relationship agreements. Having a meeting with the couple and telling them that they need exhibit professional workplace behavior in the office. More often than not, that approach works. Once they understand that their jobs may be on the line if they don't comply with your instructions, people tend to comply. (Businessweek, 2010)
References

Kurtz, Rod. "Office Romances On The Rise Among Millennial Employees: Survey Says." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 09 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013

Tyler, K. (2008). Sign in the Name of Love. HR Magazine, 53(2), 40-43.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2010/sb20100211_326976.htm