An office affair is the essential ingredient in any good TV show or movie. Not to mention, a sure fire way to wreak havoc in the workplace. In the opinion of almost all who had posted before, simply having a policy is not enough. On the other hand, ignoring office affairs will lead to workplace woes. Especially troublesome are those relationships between a superior and a subordinate, and affairs between two people who are married to other people. There is another constant: work problems get taken home and home problems get taken to work.
Cupid’s misfire #1: At a company Christmas party, an employee and her supervisor initiated a six-month affair. After it ended, the employee claimed she was pressured into it, since he controlled her performance evaluations. The company issued a warning to the supervisor and created an agreement, which prevented them from working together without a third party present. Both were transferred. The employee later claimed in court that she was transferred because she complained about the coerced relationship. An appeals court disagreed. It ruled that, even if the employee had been demoted, the company’s motivation was not unlawful. “The fact that two people do not get along after their office romance sours is not sexual harassment, and an employer’s decision to split up two workers whose interpersonal problems are impeding the company’s progress is not retaliation.”
Cupid’s misfire #2: An employee was involved in a consensual sexual relationship with the company president. When the president’s family learned of the liaison, he ended the relationship and terminated the employee. She later said he told her “if he could not be intimate with her he no longer wanted her around,” and if she wanted her job back, she should call his wife and “beg” for it. Instead, the employee sued for sexual harassment. But a court ruled that she had no recourse, since the law protects employees from unwelcome sexual advances, not voluntary romantic relationships. It added that the terms “rejection” and “discrimination” are not synonymous.
Cupid’s misfire #3: Three years after a workplace romance failed, an employee was terminated. So she sued for sexual harassment and discrimination. Why? Because soon after her former partner -- a very senior executive -- learned that she was involved in a new relationship, he assaulted her with a barrage of questions about her current paramour, revoked several of her workplace privileges, and threatened her future with the company. Not only that, but for months he allegedly encouraged her to end her relationship so she could renew an affair with him. A jury awarded her $250,000 in lost front pay, back pay, and punitive damages.
Cupid’s misfire #4: A manager repeatedly asked a subordinate out on dates, inquired into her personal life, and made unwelcome physical advances when he was drunk. She rebuffed him, which resulted in the manager criticizing her work, yelling at her, turning down a vacation request, and withholding a raise. The employer launched an investigation. But when interviewing witnesses, the questions focused on the employee’s work, not the manager’s behaviour. The investigating manager also refused to discuss the situation with the employee over the phone when they could not meet face-to-face. Ultimately, the accused manager was not disciplined. A court awarded the woman more than $400,000, because the company failed to take appropriate action in response to the harassment complaints.
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