Ask the Experts: Love, Absence, & At-Will Employment

On Apr 11, 2025

In the latest installment of New Jersey Business Magazine’s Ask the Experts column, HR professionals working with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association respond to executives’ inquiries on three interesting workplace issues:

Should we ban romantic relationships in our workplace?

You’re certainly welcome to try, but the heart wants what it wants. Bans of this sort are difficult to enforce and can make employees feel like you’re interfering in their personal lives, potentially diminishing trust and driving these relationships “underground.” If you do spot a workplace romance in progress, it’s often best to simply remind employees about your harassment policy and general expectations for workplace conduct. However, we do recommend prohibiting relationships between managers and their direct reports to prevent perceptions of favoritism or harassment, which could create legal and reputational risks for the organization.

If you decide to prohibit all employee dating, be careful when wording your policy. Courts have found that use of the word “fraternize” (in a non-fraternization policy) without additional explanation could potentially discourage employees from exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. To avoid both lawyers and confusion, you’ll want to use language that specifically refers to employee dating or romantic relationships.

What should we include in an attendance policy?

Generally, an attendance policy should outline your attendance expectations, the procedures your employees should follow if they’re going to be late or absent, and the consequences when your policy isn’t followed.

Your expectations should include how you define being on time and what you would consider being tardy or absent. This section of your policy might say something like, “You are expected to arrive at the workplace on time and ready to perform your job.”

The procedures section of the policy tells employees what they should do in the event of a planned or unplanned absence, when they need to arrive late or leave early, or if an emergency arises and they aren’t able to notify you ahead of time. It could include instructions on whom to notify (e.g., one’s manager) and when to notify them (e.g., two hours before an unplanned absence).

The consequences section explains what happens when employees don’t follow your policy. “Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination” is a typical line. You should also note how many days of unexcused absence, or no-call no-show, will constitute voluntary resignation on the part of the employee.

What is at-will employment?

At-will employment means that the employer or the employee can end the employment relationship at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause. It does not, however, allow an employer to terminate someone for an illegal reason, like their inclusion in a protected class or their exercise of a legal right.

Assuming you want to maintain the at-will relationship with employees, we recommend including clear language about this in your employee handbook.

Keep in mind that even with an at-will relationship, terminations carry risk. A terminated employee can always claim that they were terminated for an illegal reason, at which point you’ll want to be able to show otherwise. To reduce that risk, you should have and document a lawful, business-related reason for each termination. 

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