Consensual relationship agreements are used to protect both employers and employees from unwanted litigation. The contracts are legally binding, and "shield employers from liability if intimacy later congeals into a sexual harassment lawsuit or some other discord, (Selvin, 2007). Sexual harassment is not the only concern about workplace romances, from a legal or a human resources standpoint. As Tyler (2008) points out, "workplace romances can lead to accusations of poor judgment, breaches of ethics, favoritism, lost productivity, poor employee morale, sexual harassment claims and even workplace violence." Consensual relationship agreements are also important from a public relations standpoint. They prevent a senior executive's dalliances with a coworker to become the source of bad publicity. Therefore, the consensual relationship agreement has the potential to help any organization. Commonly or colloquially known as "love contracts," consensual relationship agreements are usually handled by the company's human resources department. Consensual relationship agreements are...

Office romances have become "more numerous" (Selvin 2007). Selvin (2007) notes, "a recent survey found that 43% of U.S. workers admit to having dated a co-worker, and many of those relationships lead to marriage." Likewise, Tyler (2008) claims, "according to a 2003 survey by Vault.com, an online career center, 47% of the 1,000 professionals surveyed had been involved in an office romance, and another 19% would consider it." The prevalence of office romances in multiple sectors proves that all organizations need to seriously considering implementing a policy whereby employees can sign consensual relationship agreements.
An important counterargument to consider is that many employees might not be willing to sign the relationships. If employees…