Tag Archives: ELECTRONIC RECORDING

Can voice recording of me and customer be used in court?

Q: I met with this customer in a public parking lot of a truck stop off the highway. I recorded the conversation so that my husband could hear after it was done because he was not able to come and is main owner of our business. In this recording it is stated my husband’s work is perfect and they can’t wait to pay us, and he also admits to committing insurance fraud. We still have not been paid by this guy for the work completed and now need to go to court to get our money (which this guy agrees to amount and that the job is perfect in the recording) Since this was recorded in a public place with both of us standing in parking lot of public place, can this be used in court?? Thank you in advance! (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: PA is a two-party consent state. If the other person was unaware he was being electronically recorded, you don’t have two parties consenting and you have committed a crime under the PA Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, 18 PA. C.S. § 5701. I would not use the recording.

I have my boss on video calling me a liar

Q: I have video footage that my boss called me a liar and that he is willing to do anything to get me disciplined. I am a union bus driver in the City of Pittsburgh. About a month ago I was spit on by passenger a few days later the passenger’s friend who had calmed her down when I threatened to call the police called him claiming that I called the first woman a cow there is no proof one way or the other than the fact that the woman who sent into complained her story does not match up with the video footage mind you there is no audio and so because there is supposed discourteousness towards a passenger I was given three years-probation on a written warning I videotaped the hearing without my boss and knowing and came to find out he thinks I’m nothing but a big liar and states in the video that he has no proof and then because I failed to mention the last thing that she had said to me before she spit on me in the hearing but I had in my written statement he’s claiming that it’s probably fraudulent on my behalf. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: This is hard to follow as written. Your video tape obviously has an audio track. This was an illegal recording if you have audio. PA is a two- person consent state. You can be charged criminally for this. I suggest that you be extremely careful in using this tape. You should speak with an employment discrimination lawyer before you do anything.