Can an employee secretly record my conversations and send them to my boss to tryand get me fired?

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Can an employee secretly record my conversations and send them to my boss to tryand get me fired?

In PA.

Asked on November 19, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

PA has some of the most stringent recording laws in the country. While the majority of states follow the "1 party consent" rule, PA is an "all party consent" state. This means that all parties to a conversation (either in person or on the telephone) must consent to it's recording. To put it another way, the person doing the recording must be a party to the conversation and all those being recorded must consent to its being recorded. 

That above holds true unless there is no expectation of privacy.  In other words, was the conversation considered to be private? Almost all telephone conversations are presumed to be. However, in-person conversations are not necessarily private. As a general rule, in-person conversations which can be naturally overheard (i.e. without use of any special devices) are not considered private communications. So where you record matters. If it's in someone's private office all people being recorded must agree to it; if it's in the lunchroom than no such consent is needed.

Failure to obtain unanimous consent can result in a personal injury lawsuit, and in some cases criminal charges as well. The fact is that recording a fellow co-worker secretly, may well result in the employee who is doing the recording, being terminated themself.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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