Two good friends of mine at work recently got married. He’s an attorney, she’s a secretary in his department (she no longer works directly for him). I’m wondering if their new marital status affects my law firm’s liability under sexual harassment laws, in particular:
Quid pro quo harassment (sleep with me or you won’t get that raise) - is this possible when the two are married?
Gender discrimination (didn’t get promotion/job because wife is female) - I don’t see this as being affected; and
Hostile working environment - this is a doozy. Is my law firm supposed to/allowed to intervene if the two start having marital problems, and the problems spill over into work?
I would say that the company’s ethics officer will have a field day with this one. The fact that she’s in the same department doesn;t bode well, I’d say. ( This is all WAG stuff, I don’t work for a company, I work for me).
Common sense says move him to another department. Or move her. Whichever will serve the needs of the company best. But, when working with married people in a professional environmet, there is ALWAYS an undercurrent there. I find it distasteful to have to deal with, and I've only had it as a day player.
Sua. THe closest I saw was a married couple working for the State DOC, they were for a brief time in the same office. They were moved to different offices.
In general, even if the people are very professional about their work, it’s a tough balancing act.
as far as liabilities to the firm?
well, do y’all have a personnel policy in effect? is this in violation of same?
Ok, right now they’re both happily married and happily co workers. what’s supposed to happen if the status quo changes? that’s really where there’s a potential for trouble.
I would guess to be on the safe side, they shouldn’t work in the same division.
If nothing at all else, I think it’s bad for the morale of the other employees. Any raise she gets would be attributed to the relationship, any praise, etc. Any complaint anyone else had, would be attributed to “well, if I was his WIFE…”
Potential for personnel problems. IMHO.
and legally, remember it’s also possible (at least in many states) for a husband to rape his wife.
Sure they can harass each other. Just cause they are married doesn’t effect the law. The law isn’t just for non married people. Although it might be more tricky to prove if they are married.
I wish I would have read this before 1a.m.! I’d call my companies legal department and see what they would say! They might not know as nepotism is forbidden where I work.
I’ll tell you this, I own a small business (a gun store). This is a side venture as I otherwise make a good living as a business analyst. I had to go to mandatory sensitivity training for my regular job. (Everyone had to go!). I learned that, according to the law, if my wife came into my gun shop while I was there, and I kissed her very pasionately in front of my employees, I was sexually harassing my employees because the show of affection could make them feel uncomfortable! Kissing my wife is sexually harassing others? What nonsense! My employees should be glad I love my wife as they happen to be my daughter and oldest son! Or maybe they could sue me and my insurance could settle with them for a million!
“I kissed her very pasionately in front of my employees, I was sexually
harassing my employees because the show of affection could make them feel uncomfortable!”
Sure can, especially if they feel affection for her too. To be fair, suppose two gay men work in your store & they come to work & kiss passionately in front of you for five minutes…how would you feel?
