The media was abuzz late last week and during the weekend with David Letterman's confession that he had sex with women who worked for him. Letterman made this confession after Robert Haldermann, a CBS News producer, was arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from him. Halderman allegedly threatened to reveal Letterman's affair with his former personal assistant, who was also Halderman's former girlfriend, if he didn't pay him a large sum of money. To hear this story discussed on various news shows, one had to wonder which crime was more serious — extortion or having an affair.
The media used words like "shocking" and "stunning" to describe this news. I thought, at first, that this was being blown way out of proportion. Who cares who had an affair with who? This doesn't really matter to anyone but Letterman, the woman (or women) he had sex with and his wife. Right? Well, it may matter to CBS. If someone decides to sue for sexual harassment, Letterman's employer may have a problem on its hands.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment" (Facts About Sexual Harassment, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). So far, I haven't heard word that anyone is suing. Unless Letterman's staffers — and this includes those with whom he had sex as well as others who may have been affected by his actions — sue him, there really isn't much to talk about in regard to the affair.
More About Workplace Relationships:
Why to Avoid an Office Romance
Rules for Office Romance