Any sane business decisionmaker would want legal cover for something like this in case it draws a lawsuit. Regardless of whether they themselves think it's okay

Any sane business decisionmaker would want legal cover for something like this in case it draws a lawsuit. Regardless of whether they themselves think it's okay, doing it entirely on the sly makes it more likely an opposing lawyer can convince a judge/jury that it's not okay. If they have an agreement that the client "accepted" that strengthens their position quite a lot.