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70 Def. Counsel. J. 78 (2003)
Romantic Relationships at Work: Does Privacy Trump the Dating Police

handle is hein.journals/defcon70 and id is 80 raw text is: The Privacy Project Romantic Relationships at Work: Does Privacy Trump the Dating Police? Courts generally have upheld fraternization policies that balance employer and interests carefully and that are administered impartially By Rebecca J. Wilson, Christine Filosa and Alex Fennel N TODAY'S work-oriented culture, of fice romances and the related topics of sex and privacy have become important is- sues confronted by most employers. With more employees working longer days and spending so much of their time on-the-job, romantic relationships at work are develop- ing more frequently.' Workplace romance may be the only option for employees whose workload limits their outside activi- ties; but for employers, this trend may prove problematic as the potential liability associated with these relationships rises.2 A 1998 survey by the Society for Hu- man Resource Management predicted that 55 percent of office romances would likely result in marriage, but that 28 percent of these office relationships may result in complaints of favoritism from coworkers, 24 percent in sexual harassment claims, and another 24 percent in the decreased productivity of the employees involved.' Statistics such as these have motivated em- ployers to adopt prophylactic policies in an effort to avoid the potentially complicated and unsavory outcomes of office affairs and to maintain a strictly professional work environment. 1. Davan Maharaj, The Birds and the Bees-and the Workplace, L.A. TIMES, available at http:// cgi.latimes.com/class/employ/career/birdsbees 991121.htm (March 1, 2002) 2. Harvey R. Meyer, When Cupid Aims at the Workplace; Romances Between Coworkers Can Cause Problems for a Company; Be Prepared to Handle Such Situations, NATION'S BUSINESS, avail- able at www.findarticles.com/cf_0/mI 154/n7_v86/ IADC member Rebecca J. Wilson is a partner in the Boston office of Peabody & Arnold LLP and vice chair of the litigation department, where she concentrates in employment law and works with employ- ers to develop procedures and policies to prevent employment-related claims. She received her undergraduate degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and her law degree from Boston College in 1979. Christine Filosa, a former associate at Peabody & Arnold, is now associate legal counsel at the Education Development Center Inc. Alex Fennel was a summer associate in 2002 at Peabody & Arnold and is a third- year law student at Boston University. As protection from litigation and poten- tial liability, some employers adopt poli- cies directly addressing dating in the work- place. These policies range from the very strict, such as a comprehensive prohibition of dating between employees, to the more lenient, such as a policy that actively dis- courages, but ultimately allows, employees to fraternize.' Even a simple policy requir- ing employees to notify management when coworkers are romantically involved pro- vides documentation of a consensual rela- 20797623/print.jhtml (July 1998). 3. Cupid's Arrows Sometimes Compete with Work Objectives-SHRM Survey Finds Office Ro- mances Are Often Frowned upon by Employers, available at www.shrm.org/press/releases/980128- 3.htm (January 28, 1998). 4. Jennifer L. Dean, Employer Regulation of Em- ployee Personal Relationships, 76 B.U.L. REV. 1051, 1052-53 (1996).

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