David, David, David…another reason bosses shouldn’t have sex with employees

For those who haven’t heard yet, last night, David Letterman revealed he’d been the target of a $2 million blackmail scheme carried out by a CBS 48 Hours producer.  CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace reports that Letterman’s alleged blackmailer was John Halderman, a 20-year-plus veteran of CBS News. Halderman allegedly left a blackmail letter in the comedienne’s car which threatened to reveal Letterman’s sexual relationships with several female Late Show staff members. Letterman and his attorney took the letter to authorities who arrested Halderman on Thursday.

Let’s be clear here, the criminal in this story is the CBS 48 Hours producer who attempted to blackmail Letterman.  Let’s also understand though that Letterman’s a married man with a 6 year old child who’d been in a relationship with his now wife for over 20 years. Infidelity is old news, and frankly, Letterman’s cheating comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone.  The big story here (aside from the cloak and dagger blackmail plot) is Letterman having sex with his employees.

We covered the dangers of even consensual boss/subordinate relationships a couple of weeks ago.  Besides being a morale buster, it opens employers up to the threat of lawsuits.  And frankly, I don’t buy the argument that every consensual boss/subordinate relationship is, well, consensual.  When the person who signs your paycheck tells you he wants to sleep with you, the balance shifts, and what would be an easy “hell no” in any other circumstance becomes a little less cut and dry.

Chances are, most bosses sleeping with their employees won’t get blackmailed. But is it worth the risk to them, their families and their employers? As Letterman’s drama continues to unfold over the next few weeks, I hope it serves to put more bosses on guard to the dangers of these kinds of relationships. The cynic in me though thinks that it won’t do much to change the wide spread and widely accepted practice of bosses dipping, literally, into their talent pool.

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