Ashley Brightwell was quoted on the ABC News Web site, in an article discussing affairs and romance at the workplace, in the wake of recent celebrity scandals. Brightwell spoke as an authority on workplace sexual harassment claims. “People are going to date and have affairs in the workplace. Most employers recognize that they can’t stop it,” she said, “But it really becomes problematic from an employer’s perspective when the two people involved are a subordinate and her superior.”
Affairs involving co-equals is less legally problematic for employers, but not without issues of their own. “It might not be as clear cut and certainly would be harder to prove,” said Brightwell, “but when any relationship goes sour, one party can feel wronged and make a claim [of sexual harassment].”
To protect themselves, according to Brightwell, employers are now requesting employees to acknowledge consensual relationships with so-called “love contracts.”