Human Resources: An Employment Law Valentine: The Risks, Realities And Repercussions of Workplace Romance

February is often referred to as the “Month of Special Romance,” wrapped as it is around everyone’s favorite romantic holiday, Valentine’s Day. This program will explore the risks and realities of office romance, and the practical steps that can be taken by HR professionals to minimize exposure to employment law liability when love, lust and loonies just don’t know when to stop! : o Effective employer polices that address workplace fraternization; o An ethics-based approach to conflicts of interest inherent in employee-supervisor relationships o Social Networking polices that address social media misuse at work; o Recommended training content to minimize sexual harassment liability; o “Love Contract” sample to mitigate risks associated with certain types of workplace romance; o Workplace violence considerations stemming from romance involving employees. o Legal and internal remedies to help respond to the dark side of workplace romance – from discipline to damages.

This webcast has been approved for 1.0 General credits through HRCI

In employment law circles, it is also a month where acute attention is placed on one of the biggest triggers for employment law liability – the perils associated with office romance. Risks abound for employers and HR professionals when this deceptive dynamic is in place: ethical concerns stemming from the conflict of interest inherent in a romance that coincides with a reporting relationship between manager and employee; harassment claims lurking in the sexual advances, consensual relationships and bitter break-ups that are common to workplace romance situations; the prevalent use of social media use as a tool to convey the many flirtations, fluctuations and fallouts of workplace romance; and, the potential for workplace violence when a romantically inspired domestic dispute extends into one of the participant’s workplaces.

So what can we do about it? This program will explore the realities of the problem, and the practical steps that can be taken to minimize exposure to liability for the dangers of office romance:

Effective handbook practices and language that discloses the employer’s approach to workplace dating;
Role of ethics and Codes of Business Conduct to help navigate the turbulence of workplace romance
Social Networking polices that limit non-business use of social media tools at work;
“Must-have” training content necessary to minimize harassment liability;
Sample Love Contract language for use as a last resort when select colleagues can’t keep their hands off each other!
Application of State and Federal Law to the dark side of workplace romance – from harassment liability under Title VII to common law considerations when effecting internal discipline;
Prevention and Response practices to workplace violence that can be associated with romance involving employees;

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