SAN FRANCISCO -- The scandal involving San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has many companies taking a look at their own workplace rules.
Workers at Burnham and Brown law firm may have friendly working relationships with one another, but when it comes to dating the boss, it's strictly prohibited.
"We want to avoid conflicts of interest; we want to avoid people feeling that they're not being favored because they're not in a dating relationship," Cathy Arias, a lawyer who specializes in employment law, said.
Arias said more and more companies are putting dating policies in place in hopes of maintaining professional environments and avoiding sexual harassment lawsuits.
"I think you're better to be proactive and have policies in place so that everybody knows what's expected of them," Arias said.
While the mayor admitting to an affair with his former aide is raising eyebrows, the city of San Francisco has nothing on the books that prohibits relationships between supervisors and subordinates.
But the city of Oakland does. Oakland's anti-fraternization policy states that any employee who dates a subordinate and fails to report it is subject to discipline.
"I generally advise my clients to have these kinds of policies in place," Arias said.
Arias said she expects the Newsom scandal to prompt more employers to implement dating rules.
San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly told NBC11 that he would not be surprised if a request to draft a new policy comes as early as next week.
Workplace experts said an estimated 60 percent of employees have had a romantic relationship with another employee, but policies against dating one's supervisor are becoming more common, NBC11 reported.