Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts
Tape Recorded Discussion
One employee tape recorded another employee during a discussion. The employee now wants to play the recorded message to the direct manager and HR. Is it appropriate that we listen to this tape recorded discussion without the other employees consent?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Tape Recorded Discussion
Massachusetts is a "two party consent" state. So, if the employee taped the conversation without the other individual's consent, the taping was in violation of the law. If this is the case, I would generally advise the company NOT to listen to the recording. I suppose I should qualify this slightly. If the employee were to say to you, "Jack in purchasing is crazy. He has a firearm license and he's planning on killing us all. I recorded him saying as much," then I would listen to the tape. It's really a question of balancing risks. Shy of a threat of physical violence or a direct admission of unlawful behavior, however, and I would err on the side of not reviewing the tape.
Good luck.
Evan
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