Legal Question in Employment Law in Michigan

Re: Tape-recording termination

It's a violation of the Eavesdropping statute which states:

750.539d Installation, placement, or use of device for observing, recording, transmitting, photographing or eavesdropping in private place.

Sec. 539d.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person shall not do either of the following:

(a) Install, place, or use in any private place, without the consent of the person or persons entitled to privacy in that place, any device for observing, recording, transmitting, photographing, or eavesdropping upon the sounds or events in that place.

However, no one in memory has ever been prosecuted under this act for the reasons stated in your inquiry - although the practice is not uncommon.

If the the tape recording was made for purposes of later litigation, it likely would not be admissible as evidence.