My friend’s employer has been saying some completely inappropriate things to me. These comments are NOT sexual in nature. These comments are pointed and offensive though.
I keep telling my friend to slip a voice recorder in his pocket and turn it on whenever he experiences such verbal abuse, but he refuses to do so for the following reasons (almost verbatim):
“I have no power here.”
“I’m just a minority; no one will side with me.”
“In America, capitalism rules. Money, power, and relationships are everything.”
“No one gives a fucking shit about me, because I have no money, no power, and no relationships.”
“Recording is illegal and will only bring about greater trouble for myself.”
:dubious:
What can I say to my friend to 1) negate these cynical thoughts and 2) persuade him to carry around a voice recorder. I’m even offering to buy him a voice recorder with my own money; all he has to do is turn it on! Later, when he has several minutes of clear verbal abuse, he can release it to fellow employees and the company’s clients. Yet he refuses.
It was meant in a light hearted way. There have been many posters here who have posted questions for their “friends” in the past… like maybe… PSXer.
If you want to know how it would affect my advise… if it is your friend’s employer, I assume you have no obligation to be around them. So, stay away = no more harassment. If it is your employer than the advise will need to be different.
This is precisely the opposite of correct, at least in cases where the person doing the recording is also party to the conversation. In the US, at least, it is usually (in terms of the number of states and the number of people involved) legal to record a conversation that you are involved in.
In the United States, almost 80 percent of states (39 states, plus DC) are one-party consent jurisdictions, where, if you are involved in a conversation (in person or by phone), you may record that conversation without informing the other parties. This one-party consent rule, i believe, basically follows the federal law on such matters. Even in one-party consent states, however, you generally can’t record a conversation if you are not one of the parties involved.
There are 11 two-party consent states, and in those states ALL people involved in a conversation must be informed and give their consent in order for the conversation to be recorded.
I am a licensed California lawyer, and I can assure you that in California, you may be prosecuted for secretly recording someone. While you might escape conviction, it will be very expensive.
Nice shifting of the goalposts there, counselor. You never mentioned California.
As a California lawyer, you know very well that California is, in fact, one of the all-party notification states, and you should also know that what applies in California might not apply in other jurisdictions.
When you say “usually,” without qualification, how the fuck is anyone else supposed to know that you mean “in California”? You see how easy it would have been for you to be right instead of wrong in this case?
Here you go. There are also a bunch of other places on the web with similar information. Here’s a guide (PDF) published for journalists by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
As you can see, the Wiki article lists 12 all-party notification states, not 11 as i said in my previous post. But, as you will also see, the situation in Illinois is somewhat complicated, and it’s not always clear whether it belongs in one of the two main groups, or in a special group all by itself.
What exactly is being said? You have ugly ties and a beer belly? Or is it actionable? Exactly what is the offensive part? Offensive as in dickish or offensive as in possible CNN headline?
What do you hope to accomplish by releasing a recording, besides getting your friend fired?
“Pointed and offensive” covers a wide range and may be annoying, but not actionable. You seem eager to push your friend into a confrontation he may not win. If his work environment is that negative, and he sounds as weak and passive as you paint him, his best solution may be to look for employment elsewhere.
When he says “I’m just a minority. . .” does he mean that he’s one of very few people having trouble with this manager, or does he mean that he’s in a protected category per workplace harassment laws?
I know you said the comments are not sexual. Are they tied to race, religion, disability, etc.? Either way, he may wish to complain to HR in writing. In the complaint he should set forth when he first complained about it previously and to whom. Does he believe that he as a “minority” is being singled out? That the boss does not make these comments to others in the majority? That should be part of the complaint. That should get a response. If the only response it gets is that he gets fired, then he has the makings at least of a retaliation lawsuit. The risk in the immediate future is that he could get fired. Can he make do on unemployment and/or without his salary? Sounds like an environment he does not want to be in anyway. If he does get fired (and he is an otherwise good employee without a disciplinary track record) there will be many plaintiffs’ employment lawyers eager to take his case.
Sorry guys, I screwed up my OP. I meant to write that someone is harassing my friend - not “me,” and that I want my friend to record the verbal harassment for later use.
What if the recording was illegaly taped by an anonomous party who turned the tape over. Could the taoe be used as evidence while the police investigated who did the taping?