Companies May Be Ignoring Call Recording Laws in California

Call recording laws in California are some of the strictest of record among the U.S. The state is known as a “two-party” state based upon its privacy laws regarding telephone communications.

This two-party designation is referred to as such because the caller and receiver must both agree before any part of a conversation can be recorded via a mobile or land-based telephone line.

Call recording laws in California are at times called the “wiretapping law.” This law can extend to devices capable of video and live conversations as well.

California is not the only “two party” state in this regard. Other such states are Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Baja Fresh and Call Recording Laws in California

The requirement of the consent of both parties to a phone call prior to recording is most often evidenced when individuals call customer service phone numbers of businesses.

Most often these customer service lines will have a recorded message begin the contact and tell the caller that “this phone call may be recorded for quality-control purposes.” If the customer then continues the call, they are deemed to have consented to the recording.

If you live in the State of California and call a customer service line and there is no recorded warning and the customer service representative does not ask you if it is okay to record the conversation, the business is likely in violation of call recording laws in California even if their business is not based in the state.

An investigation is now looking into the call recording practices of Baja Fresh. Attorneys are currently investigating this information, but no determination has been made as to whether the business has or has not met the requirements of call recording laws in California.

Baja Fresh is a fast food Tex-Mex restaurant that originally started in Newbury Park, Calif. in the 1990’s. It was sold to Wendy’s International and then BF Acquisition Holdings in the 2000’s.

In the decade between 2000 and 2010, it had 144 company stores and 154 franchises in several domestic states. The company expanded internationally in 2010 and then was sold again to MTY Food Group in 2016.

If the investigation into Baja Fresh’s call recording practices proves that this successful fast-food restaurant chain is in violation of call recording laws in California, the consequences could be steep.

Each violation of the law comes with a possible $5,000 penalty which could add up to major financial drawbacks cumulatively. These penalties can become even worse if an individual can prove actual damages. The penalties then expand to up to three times those damages which might be significantly more than $5,000.

If you have placed a call to Baja Fresh’s customer service line and were not informed about the intent of the business to record the phone call, you may be eligible to join a class action investigation at no cost to you. Lawyers are available to discuss whether you qualify and to advise you of your legal rights and obligations.

Join a FREE California Call Recording Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you live in California and you did not receive a warning when calling a toll-free number, your call may have been recorded in violation of California law, and you may be entitled to compensation. See if you qualify to file a California call recording class action lawsuit.

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