Companies Suspected of Illegal Call Recording in California

Illegal call recording is taken very seriously in the state of California, with the policy applying to both recipients and callers involved in the call.

As California is one of the most progressive states in consumer protection laws, both businesses and consumers can face significant fines or more severe legal action if they are found to have committed illegal call recording.

While it is common practice for businesses to record phone calls for customer service training purposes, consumers must be made aware that their conversation could be recorded. Businesses often place customer service calls or have a designated customer service line, during which time a disclosure or notification of potential call recording is given.

Consumers are either asked to acknowledge this in some way by pressing a number on their keypad, or simply staying on the line to speak to the customer representative. By doing either of these, the consumers give implied consent to potential call recording.

However, if businesses do not give this disclosure, they could face potential legal repercussions for illegal call recording. Baja Fresh is one of many businesses that are now under investigation for compliance with state privacy laws when operating in the state of California.

Baja Fresh opened its first restaurant location in August 1990, offering customers “traditional fire grilled favorites” using fresh ingredients. Currently Baja Fresh has numerous locations throughout the country, with the company stating it continues to be “passionate about serving the freshest and highest-quality Mexican food in our bright, clean restaurants.”

In addition, Baja Fresh tries to adhere to the different needs of its customers and readily receives customer service calls to answer any inquiries. However the company needs to be sure it is following California privacy laws when conducting these customer service calls to avoid illegal call recording.

Overview of California Call Recording Policy

Under California privacy laws, two party consent must be given in order to avoid illegal call recording. This applies to all parties involved in the conversation, each of who must give consent in order for the call recording to be legal.

More specifically, businesses or individuals that fail to give notification of potential call recording may be in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act. This means that in almost all cases, call recording without the consent of all parties involved is illegal in the state of California.

California call recording laws are largely based on the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), which was implemented 40 years prior. Under CIPA, both parties involved in a conversation that is presumed to be private must give consent before the call can be recorded.

The conversation does not have to have a private location–there need only be implied privacy between the parties involved. CIPA not only helps discourage illegal call recording, but also prevents abuse of wiretapping.

Several companies have paid multimillion dollar settlements in the past for alleged illegal call recording, with legal experts encouraging California residents to be wary.

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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