As McDonald's CEO Learned, Workplace Romance Can Be Perilous

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CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- Workplace couples are often romanticized - think Bill and Melinda Gates or Michelle and Barack Obama.

But when the relationship involves two people with unequal power, it can also be fraught with peril, especially in the #MeToo era.

The CEO of Chicago-based McDonald's, Steve Easterbrook, is only the latest chief executive to be ousted over a consensual relationship with an employee.

Increasingly, U.S. companies are adopting policies addressing workplace romances, a trend that began well before the .MeToo movement galvanized a national conversation surrounding sexual misconduct.

Addressing workplace romance can be complicated, but many companies remove any gray areas by forbidding managers, especially C-suite executives, from having relationships with subordinates given the potential for favoritism or lawsuits if the relationship sours.