Romano’s Macaroni Grill customer service may be illegally recording calls with customers, violating California privacy laws.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill customer service is just one of many restaurants that may be violating California state law by recording people without their consent.

Now, lawyers are looking for California residents who had their calls recorded but were not warned prior to being recorded, for a call recording class action lawsuit investigation.

Call Recording

Federal law prohibits recording calls without notification, but California law prohibits any person or business from recording telephone calls without the consent of all parties involved. This two-party consent applies to both inbound and outbound calls.

Many businesses record calls with customers for the purpose of quality assurance, liability, or for their records. However, if the call is placed to a California resident and the person is not notified in advance of recording, the business may be in violation of California privacy law.

In the case of a call from a business, like Macaroni Grill, to an individual, the business must notify the consumer that the call may be recorded; the individual’s choice to remain on the line constitutes consent for this recording. To comply with California law, both sides must happen – the warning and the acceptance

If you did not hear a prerecorded warning that your call with a representative was being recorded, or if the business representative did not let you know, the call may have been recorded without your knowledge and consent and you may have a legal claim.

Companies that may have violated their customers’ rights by not notifying them that a call was being recorded include:

• Cannondale Bicycle Corporation
• Czech Airlines
• Dermalogica
• Drs. Foster & Smith
• Mears Transportation Group
• Romano’s Macaroni Grill
• Southwest Rapid Rewards (800-445-5764 only)
• Swarovski
• United Airlines Pet Safe (800-575-3335 only)

Privacy Laws

California has some of the most stringent privacy laws in the country. In fact, privacy is delineated as an inalienable right in California’s Constitution. As a result, California has a long history of enacting laws that protect its citizens’ privacy.

As technology evolves, it becomes easier for people to gain information about one another and to record them. California’s laws have adapted to protect its citizens’ privacy in the face of this changing technology.

One way in which many people may have their privacy violated is through the nonconsensual recording of calls. There are exceptions to the rule that all parties must be informed that a call is recorded, but they are few and far between. 

Slate explains that California does have some exceptions to the two-party consent law. Reportedly, someone can record a conversation without the knowledge of the other party if you believe that doing so will help provide evidence for a serious crime. 

In other instances, it may be legal to record a conversation without getting the consent of both appeal involved if there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy.” These instances may include public speeches, shouting going on between two people in a public space, or other instances.

Slate does go on to note that there may be some grey areas about when people can have a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” because what is considered private may vary based on the context. The instances in which this may get complicated can include instances in which two people are having a quiet, private conversation in a public place, or yelling in a semi-private place. In both instances, the idea of a “reasonable expectation of privacy” gets complicated.

However, during a phone call, most people feel that they can expect privacy. This is especially true if they are making the call from a private space, like their home. People who place customer service calls may expect that they are speaking only to one person, not being listened to by multiple people via call recording. As many people expect privacy on a phone call, it is up to a business to inform customers if the call is being recorded, so the customer can decide whether or not to stay on the line.

Lawyers are now helping California residents stand up for their privacy and resist the trend of undisclosed call recording. If you received a call from Romano’s Macaroni grill customer service, or from another business or their customer service line, you may have a legal claim and could be entitled to compensation.

California law allows individuals to seek up to $5,000 for each violation of California’s telephone privacy law, or up to three times the amount of damages suffered. Businesses have already paid out thousands of dollars to individuals for violating California privacy law.