California is a two-party consent state, meaning it is illegal to record your boss yelling at you during a private conversation if you are secretly recording it without their consent. However, California’s workplace privacy laws allow recording in common areas, such as work cubicles or a breakroom.
If your boss is yelling at you in a common area of the workplace, you can record them.
With smartphones and technology available today, virtually every California employee now has the ability to record things that happen in the workplace. Despite this capability, there are privacy laws in place that govern how, when, and who you can record at work. Understanding the limits of privacy laws in California can be extremely difficult, as they are quite complex and dependent on certain scenarios. Still, if you feel you are being verbally abused by your boss, you may wonder if you have the right to document this behavior.
Understand Your Privacy Rights By Contacting Maison Law
Not only are recording devices more prevalent than ever, the laws on using them in the workplace in California vary given the situation. As such, it can be difficult for you to totally understand your rights under the law.
Our team of knowledgeable California workplace privacy lawyers can not only explain the law to you, they can help you understand what you can and can’t record at work. To learn more about your legal rights, contact us for a free consultation.
California Law and Recording In the Workplace
California’s law relating to recording in the workplace is covered under Section 435 of the California Labor Code. Under the law, recording of either employers or employees can occur in common areas in the workplace, but there are very important limitations to this law.
Basically, the law protects employees from being videotaped in the workplace in areas where they can have a “reasonable expectation” of privacy. This typically includes the following areas and circumstances:
- Bathrooms or locker rooms
- Break rooms
- During union meetings
- Any surveillance that includes audio recording, unless both parties give consent
- Any other space where employees can expect a reasonable expectation of privacy
California courts have consistently ruled that a reasonable expectation of privacy applies to workplace areas if they have concealers or if the employees have access to it by a key or card.
Can I Record My Boss Yelling At Me in California?
The law also covers the other side of this coin, with the law for recording your employer in the workplace being a little more strict. In California, employees cannot record a private conversation with coworkers or management without their consent. However, employees are permitted to record conversations or incidents in “common areas”. These areas typically include:
- Break rooms
- Cubicle areas
- Water coolers
- Kitchens or cafeterias
- Conference rooms
- Reception areas
- Courtyards
What this means is that, if you believe you are being subjected to harassment or discrimination in the workplace, you have the legal right to record a conversation to document it. You may record the harassing behavior however you wish, but the vast majority will either be recorded via audio or video. It’s also helpful to understand what type of harassing or hostile behavior usually occurs in the workplace. Most of the time, your recording can prove that you are being retaliated against for reporting the following:
- Unsafe or hazardous working conditions.
- Illegal discussions about the terms and conditions of your employment.
- Inconsistencies by your boss in applying workplace policies.
However, it’s extremely important to understand that this protection ends if it is considered to be a “private” conversation.
Two-Party Consent
California is a “two-party consent” state, meaning it is illegal to record a private conversation without the other person’s consent. Even if your boss is yelling at you or treating you hostility in the privacy of their office, you cannot record the conversation and use it as evidence of harassment or discrimination. Further, you could be fired for recording private conversations without consent, even if the recording proves harassment or discrimination.
Proving Harassment or Retaliation At Work in California
If you are able to record your boss in a public work area yelling at you, harassing you, or otherwise making your work environment hostile, you have the right to present the recording as evidence. Still, it’s important to understand how your potential case will progress. Most likely, you will have a dual claim of harassment and retaliation, in which you have every right to file a lawsuit for damages.
In these lawsuits, you could potentially recover the following damages:
- Lost wages
- Emotional distress damages
- Damages for loss of reputation or enjoyment of life
Additionally, recordings are extremely beneficial to punitive damage claims. Punitive damages are designed to punish your employer for their reckless or negligent actions in the workplace. If you have your boss yelling at you, or worse, you could add punitive damages to your list of recoverable compensation. To get punitive damages, you’ll have to prove that your employer acted:
- Maliciously
- Recklessly
- Negligently
Again, few pieces of evidence are as powerful as recordings. Still, following the proper procedure for obtaining recorded evidence is extremely important. Making sure that you are recording the hostile behavior in a public area is the only way you can show this evidence to a judge or jury.
Skilled and Experienced California Employment Lawyers
When you’re being harassed or subjected to a hostile work environment by your boss, it can make going to work extremely difficult. If you’re like most workers, you need your job. However, when your boss yells at you in a public work area, in front of other workers, you have the right to document the behavior.
Not only do you have the right to document harassing behavior, you also have the right to file a lawsuit to hold your boss accountable for their illegal actions. Contact our skilled California employment lawyers today.
