Getting Involved in Office Romances

Everything is great with an office romance, until it isn't. With Valentine's Day around the corner, it's a good time for employers to review workplace dating policies. Many business owners have learned the hard way that office relationships can negatively impact the workplace in a number of ways, including favoritism concerns, conflicts of interest, and even sexual harassment and retaliation complaints. Employers should absolutely "get involved" in office romances and set boundaries in the workplace to prevent harassment and retaliation complaints.

While love is in the air, take the time to:

Evaluate Your Policy Options
Assess your company culture and decide what kind of policy makes the most sense for your business. California employers cannot implement an outright ban on workplace dating amongst coworkers. However, you may prohibit dating between supervisors and their subordinates. You may also require employees to disclose workplace relationships to their direct supervisor or Human Resources. With knowledge of a relationship, you can confirm that it is consensual, transfer an employee to a different department/supervisor if necessary, and minimize the risk of future harassment and retaliation complaints.

Make sure your policy is clear that workplace "relationships" not only refer to formal dating arrangements, but also less formal interactions, such as "hook-ups" and flirtation, as well as interactions through social media platforms. Your policy should also address standards of conduct and prohibit conduct such as practical jokes and horseplay.

Update and Distribute Your Anti-Harassment Policy
Even if you do not have a policy specifically addressing workplace relationships, all employers are required to have a written policy prohibiting unlawful harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Distribute this policy to your employees for acknowledgment upon hire and upon updates. CEA members can access an up-to-date sample policy here.

Get Compliant With Required Training
Employers with 5 or more employees must provide 1 hour of harassment prevention training to all employees and 2 hours of harassment prevention training to supervisors. This training must be interactive and is required every 2 years. CEA is here to help you get compliant — review our service options, including our free online training for members through our new CEA University platform!

Decide how to Handle Workplace Investigations in Advance
If you receive an employee complaint about harassment, retaliation, or favoritism, you must promptly, thoroughly, and impartially investigate whether any of your company policies have been violated. If you aren't experienced or comfortable conducting the investigation yourself, employers must use a private investigator or licensed attorney. CEA has licensed attorneys on staff who can conduct an investigation for you as an independent third party. (Note: CEA cannot provide legal advice or represent employers in an attorney-client relationship.) Learn more information here!