7 months ago
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Earlier this week, the wrestling world became aware of WWE's Consensual Relationship Policy. Reported to have been in effect since June 2023, the policy generated plenty of discussion, especially regarding its fairness, and whether it went far enough to help provide a safe working environment in WWE, especially following the resignation of Vince McMahon after Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against him, alleging sex trafficking and abuse.
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After the policy leaked, Wrestling Inc. contacted Los Angeles entertainment and defamation lawyer Tre Lovell of The Lovell Firm, who gave his assessment of how this policy holds up.
"Overall, this policy is more fair than many other policies I have seen pertaining to the subject," Lovell said. "It does not necessarily prevent employee-involved relationships, but addresses the abuses that could arise from them and regulates them. Relationships among employees in a company tread on two very important, yet different, rights.
"The first is the right to date and be romantically involved with anyone you wish, which may include people with whom you work. The second is the right to have a productive, conflict-free, work environment. This policy seems to balance both interests fairly."
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Lovell also believes the policy "reaches the level of effectiveness" when it comes to attempting to prevent conflicts of interest. He noted that an outright ban would be less effective, since employees would likely engage in such relationships regardless, and be legally questionable as well. "Addressing the issue and creating guidelines for something that will most likely occur regardless of the policy is much better than ignoring it altogether."
He does, however, find one particular flaw.
"The one deficiency that I see in this policy is requiring any type of employment relationship to be reported to human relations," Lovell said. "I believe that only relationships that involve superiors, or between employees where one has supervisory responsibilities over the other, should have mandatory reporting. Two employees who are in similar positions, without either being in a position of superiority, does not present a significant potential conflict of interest."
