Uninformed phone call recording by business.

July 23, 2012 4:59 PM

Can a company record phone calls without notifying callers/customers? Are there any New York State or Federal laws prohibiting or regulating this? We've searched but can't find anything real specific.

The managers at my friend's store have decided to record the operator's phone calls to determine that the employees are doing the proper sales pitch. There is no automated message informing the customers that the calls are being recorded. Her store is one of a major national retail chain but as far as she knows, only the managers at her store got the bright idea to do this.

posted by mrflibble to law & government (3 answers total)

New York is a one-party consent state, which means that the customers do not need to be told that they're being recorded as long as the people on both ends of the line are in New York. It gets somewhat complicated if the two people on the phone are in different states. Do the employees know that this recording is happening? I'm not sure what the rules are for a Company recording its employee's conversations without telling them.
posted by brainmouse at 5:01 PM on July 23, 2012

Here. I think.
posted by dobbs at 5:02 PM on July 23, 2012

That's just lame. Thanks. Of all New York's oddball and stringent laws, you'd think this would be one of the non lax ones.
posted by mrflibble at 5:10 PM on July 23, 2012