If you are a California resident and you believe that your phone call with a business was recorded without you consent, you may have a legal claim. One of the businesses suspected of recording calls in California is United Airlines’ Pet Safe Line (800-575-3335).

California has some of the most rigid privacy laws in the country, and California’s Constitution lists privacy as an inalienable right. Over the years, in the face of technological advances that make it easier and easier to record, monitor, and otherwise invade an individual’s privacy, California’s privacy laws have adapted and changed to continue to protect its citizens privacy rights.

One of the laws that protects citizens’ privacy is a California law that prohibits people and businesses from recording a phone call with another person unless all parties involved in the call have given their affirmative consent to be recorded. This law prohibits unapproved call recording in both inbound and outbound calls.

Many businesses record calls with customers for a range of purposes, but they are required to receive consent from the customers to do so. Businesses often record calls for quality assurance purposes or employee training.

So, many businesses have a pre-recorded message play at the top of each call that notifies customers that the call is being recorded. If a customer hears this message and stays on the call, California law says that their decision to remain on the line constitutes consent to be recorded.

However, some businesses may be recording without the proper notification. If you received a call from a business and were not notified that he call was being recorded, it may have been recorded without your knowledge.

In addition to United Airlines Pet Safe line, other businesses suspected of recording calls with California residents without the residents’ knowledge are:

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

Federal law is more permissive when it comes to recording phone calls. The Federal Communications Commission makes note of federal laws on call recording on their website, and Cornell Law notes that the Federal Wiretap Act permits a call to be recorded as long as one party consents to the call being recorded. But even if some businesses may make a practice of recording calls without notifying recipients in most places around the country, this practice isn’t permitted in California.

If you received a call from United Airline’s Pet Safe Line and you live in California, you may have been recorded without your consent and may have a legal claim. You could be entitled to compensation for each violation of the law.