Who must post the Notice of Telephone Call Monitoring Sign?
Because every state has enacted “wiretapping” or “eavesdropping” laws placing restrictions on employer monitoring and recording of employee telephone calls made on company systems, posting the Notice of Telephone Call Monitoring Sign in the workplace informing employees that such monitoring or recording is taking place is mandatory in some states and highly recommended for employers in other states.
How do employers comply with employee telephone call monitoring laws?
Consent
In general, employers must inform employees that telephone call monitoring may be taking place. Both federal and state laws require employers to obtain the “consent” of one or both parties to a telephone call to permit the employer to monitor or record their employee’s telephone calls.
- Federal law allows employers to monitor employee telephone calls provided the call is being monitored for legitimate business purposes and the phone call does not concern the employee’s personal purposes.
- 38 states, and the District of Columbia have enacted “one-party consent” laws that require only one person involved in the call to be aware it is being recorded for the recording to be legal. In some cases, an employee who has received notice of the employer’s telephone monitoring and/or recording policy may be sufficient consent. Other states may require an employer to obtain each employee’s specific written consent.
- 12 states have enacted “two-party consent” laws prohibiting the recording of a conversation unless all parties involved have consented to it.
Notice and Acknowledgment
Some states require an employer to obtain from each of their employees a written acknowledgement of having received the employer’s telephone monitoring policy and the employee’s consent thereto.
Call Monitoring Workplace Posting
In addition, some states require employers to conspicuously post a notice of telephone monitoring in the workplace. For example, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York specifically require an employer to post a notice in a visible location of the workplace informing employees that telephone calls are subject to monitoring or recording. Posting the notice in the workplace may constitute sufficient notice to comply with the notification requirements in other states.