The Love Contract

Yes, that was me you saw in the Azalea parade on Saturday, playing my electric guitar in the bed of a pick up truck. I've never been in a parade before, so this was big fun. Thanks for those of you who came up to me later and told me that it was fun to see me out there. And yes, that was my bratty 15-year-old throwing--some would say, "pelting"--candy out the window. Sigh.

I recently read an article in the Daily Journal (the lawyer's newspaper) about something called "the Love Contract." No, this isn't something that's only legal in certain places in Nevada; it's a way for employers to try to shield themselves when an office romance blossoms.

Usually when two people who work together begin dating, one of them is in a higher position in the company than the other. When the romance goes sour--and, let's face it, many of these romances tend to go south--the party who's subordinate will often file a sex discrimination suit, alleging that the relationship was started because the person in the superior position forced them to. That the aggrieved employee feared retaliation etc. if they didn't play along.

The Love Contract is designed to forestall this. It says, among other things, that each person who is involved in such an office romance is doing so of their own accord; that they have been informed, by Human Resources, of their rights to be free from sexual harassment and of the procedures for reporting such; and that they understand that the romance should not, in any way, affect their work life.

The contract also asks that the couple keep their relationship outside the office; that they not engage in displays of affection in the workplace; that they keep arguments or discussions about the relationship outside the office.

No one has challenged the viability of such Love Contracts in the courts yet. It sounds like a good idea on the surface, but I can foresee some problems when the romance goes sour, such as the aggrieved party stating that they were forced to sign the contract otherwise they'd be fired. Nothing lawyers do is ironclad, despite what you might think.

Still, it's an interesting concept. A contract for love. Of course, some old-fashioned people would point out that we've had Love Contracts for thousands of years: It's called Marriage.