WWE informed its employees of the “possible negative consequences” of romantic relationships in its workplace shortly before former WWE Executive Chair Vince McMahon’s sex trafficking lawsuit was filed in January by former employee Janel Grant who accused him of sexual misconduct.
In a document that was leaked by Post Wrestling, WWE’s Consensual Relationships policy, which was adopted in June 2023, informs employees that “romantic, intimate or sexual relationships” in the workplace can “create the potential for abuse or authority or cause problems due to perceptions of favoritism by others.”
Related: New names have been revealed in Vince McMahon’s sex trafficking lawsuit
If employees do choose to enter a consensual relationship with another employee (or any independent contractor), they are told to report it to human resources and “cooperate in actions taken to address any conflict of interest.”
Some of those actions include:
- Transferring one of the individuals to another position
- Transferring supervisory, decision-making, evaluative, or advisory responsibilities
- Providing an additional layer of oversight to the supervisory role.
The policy also states that “WWE strongly discourages consensual relationships involving any WWE Board Member, or executive team member.” If an executive team member is involved in a consensual relationship with another employee, then they are instructed to disclose it in writing to the lead independent director of the board and chief human resources officer. For WWE board members, they have to report their consensual relationship involvement in writing to the CEO, chief legal officer and chief human resources officer.
Employees are also encouraged in the policy to contact a 24/7 hotline number to report any concerns they may have about the policy or any possible violations of the law and are warned that “retaliation against employees who report concerns about consensual relationships is prohibited.” Employees are also warned that any violation of the policy “may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.”
The policy leak comes weeks after new names were revealed in McMahon’s sex trafficking lawsuit. WWE President Nick Khan, WWE Chief Operating Officer Brad Blum, Former WWE Chair and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and former WWE legal department head Brian Nurse, were unmasked as the four corporate officers that were mentioned in the lawsuit, attaching them to a slew of the allegations in the complaint.
The lawsuit accuses Vince McMahon and former wrestler John Laurinaitis of alleged inappropriate behavior such as rape and sexual assault. McMahon was specifically accused of sharing “sexually explicit photographs and videos” of Grant with people inside and outside of the company, and subjecting her to “acts of extreme cruelty and degradation,” as well as trafficking her.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed and made headlines, McMahon resigned from the board of directors of WWE’s parent company TKO in January. He later became $400 million richer two months later after he sold 5.35 million shares of his TKO stock, which is about 25% of his stake in the company.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
