It's easy to criticize HR, but they're often the best people to defuse sensitive situations in the workplace Dear Bob …A coworker and I are dating. She works for the same company but in a completely different department. The company is aware of our relationship and has sanctioned it.[ Want to cash in on your IT experiences? InfoWorld is looking for stories of an amazing or amusing IT adventure, lesson learned, or tales from the trenches. Send your story to offtherecord@infoworld.com. If we publish it, we’ll keep you anonymous and send you a $50 American Express gift cheque. ] Nevertheless, she has an enemy in the office who has submitted two anonymous complaints to HR. They inform us of the complaints and remind us to not display any affection in the workplace (I don’t even see her in the workplace). With the second complaint, they have said that if they get another notice, they will investigate the complainant for creating a hostile work environment but have asked us to sign a letter stating that we have been informed to not display affection in the workplace.My question is, should I explore filing a hostile work environment complaint now? Do I have a right to review the anonymous complaint? Should I sign the letter?– Hassled Dear Hassled …From a legal perspective, I have no idea, and I recommend you don’t go through the time, trouble, and expense to find out. From your account, HR is handling the situation exceptionally well.While the “no displays of affection” requirement might go a bit overboard, it strikes me as relatively innocuous in the greater scheme. Meanwhile, HR is informing you of the complaints so that you know about them without even hinting you might have done anything wrong. And it’s told you that if there’s another anonymous complaint, they’ll investigate the complainant, not you and your paramour. I’m not sure how much better a response you could ask for. My advice: Thank HR for handling the situation so professionally and ignore the complaints themselves.Also, sign the letter. HR is responsible for protecting the company, and politically, the people in HR have to protect themselves as well. By signing the letter, you give them political cover and compliance protection, at no cost to yourself. It seems like a good deal all around to me.As for your right to review the anonymous complaints, again, whether or not you have the right doesn’t matter. If the company was taking action based on the complaints, that would be a different story. As things stand, by insisting on seeing the complaints you run the risk of creating hostility with the people in HR who are trying to help you. And if you did see them, what would you do with the information? My guess: Use the contents to try to deduce the identity of the complainer — which is why HR would turn you down. On that count, they’d be right.– BobThis story, “Working with HR: The office romance edition,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Bob Lewis’s Advice Line blog on InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter. Careers