Employee monitoring laws by state

• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo interception of calls or messages unless an exception applies: a party's prior consent (never for a criminal or tortious purpose), or equipment used in the ordinary course of business. Both are conditions to show, not a default. ECPA 2511(1)(a)ECPA 2511(2)(d)ECPA 2510(5)(a)
• Personal devicesstatutory requirementAn employer can authorise access to messages on a service it provides; that does not reach an employee's personal webmail or accounts, which need the user's authorisation. (if personal devices are monitored) SCA 2701(a)SCA 2701(c)(1)SCA 2701(c)(2)

• Noticestatutory requirementWritten notice on hiring to every employee whose telephone, email or internet use is monitored, acknowledged by the employee in writing or electronically, and the notice posted in a conspicuous place. NY Civil Rights Law 52-c(2)(a)NY Civil Rights Law 52-c(2)(a)NY Civil Rights Law 52-c(2)(b)
• Noticestatutory requirementSecurity video sits outside the Penal Law surveillance offences only where a prominent written notice on the premises says video surveillance is installed for security, or the devices are fitted so that anyone sees them at once. NY Penal Law s 250.65
• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo wiretapping, mechanical overhearing of a conversation or interception of electronic communications without the consent of a party (for a conversation) or of the sender or receiver (for a call or an electronic message), or an eavesdropping warrant; the consent basis for each recording and interception tool is the record to hold. NY Penal Law s 250.05
• Places kept privatestatutory requirement not allowed hereNo video recording of an employee in a restroom, locker room or room set aside for changing clothes unless a court order allows it; a camera outside the room whose field of view reaches inside is caught, and footage made against the section is not used for any purpose. (where it covers toilets or washrooms, change or locker rooms and showers or bathing areas) NY Labor Law s 203-c(1)NY Labor Law s 203-c(2)
• Places kept privatestatutory requirement not allowed hereNo imaging device installed or used to covertly view, broadcast or record a person in a changing room, fitting room, restroom, toilet, bathroom, washroom or shower, or a person dressing or undressing, without their knowledge or agreement, with a rebuttable presumption that the device had no legitimate purpose. (where it covers toilets or washrooms, change or locker rooms and showers or bathing areas) NY Penal Law s 250.45(3)NY Penal Law s 250.45
• Limitsstatutory requirementIntercepting or accessing an electronic communication needs the consent of a sender or receiver, or a warrant: for email, voicemail and network monitoring the consent basis for each tool is the record to hold. NY Penal Law s 250.05

• Noticestatutory requirementPrior written notice to every employee who may be affected, naming the types of monitoring and the specific locations on the premises where it may occur, posted conspicuously including at those locations; and a plain-language statement to each new hire before they start. (the replacement text takes effect 1 October 2026 (Public Act 26-73); before that date it is not in force) Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48d(b)(1)Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48d(b)(1)Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48d(b)(1)Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48d(b)(3)
• Recording consentstatutory requirementRecord a private phone call only with the prior consent of all parties (in writing or at the start of the recording), a recorded verbal notice at the start, or an automatic warning tone about every fifteen seconds. Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-570d(a)
• Places kept privatestatutory requirement not allowed hereNo electronic surveillance device or system, sound recording or CCTV included, to record or monitor employees in areas for their health or personal comfort or for safeguarding their possessions, such as rest rooms, locker rooms or lounges. (where it covers toilets or washrooms, change or locker rooms, showers or bathing areas and break rooms or staff lounges) Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48b(b)
• Covert monitoringstatutory requirementMonitoring without prior written notice only on reasonable grounds to believe employees are breaking the law or others' rights, or creating a hostile workplace, where monitoring may produce evidence. (the replacement text takes effect 1 October 2026 (Public Act 26-73); before that date it is not in force) Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48d(b)(2)

• Noticestatutory requirementBefore monitoring telephone, email or internet use: an electronic notice each day the employee uses the employer's email or internet, or a one-time notice the employee acknowledges. Del. Code tit. 19 705(b)Del. Code tit. 19 705(b)(1)Del. Code tit. 19 705(b)(2)
• Recording consentstatutory requirementChapter 24 lets a party, or someone with one party's prior consent, intercept a call or conversation; the criminal code (s 1335(a)(4)) separately asks for the consent of all parties. The two are recorded side by side and not resolved: a question for counsel. Del. Code tit. 11 2402(a)(1) and (c)(4)Del. Code tit. 11 2401(8)

• Noticestatutory requirementAt or before collection, tell staff the categories collected, the purposes, and how long each is kept. (when you say the business meets the CCPA thresholds) CCPA 1798.100(a)CCPA CCR 7012
• Recording consentstatutory requirementThe consent of every party before recording a confidential communication, and before recording any call involving a cellular or cordless phone. Cal. Penal Code 632(a)Cal. Penal Code 632.7(a)Cal. Penal Code 631(a)Cal. Penal Code 631(a)
• Places kept privatestatutory requirement not allowed hereNo audio or video recording of an employee in a restroom, locker room or room set aside for changing clothes unless a court order allows it; the duty is on causing the recording, so a camera or microphone a contractor, landlord or security vendor installed at the employer's request is reached too, and a recording made against the section is not used for any purpose. (where it covers toilets or washrooms, change or locker rooms and showers or bathing areas) Cal. Lab. Code s 435(a)Cal. Lab. Code s 435(b)
• Places kept privatestatutory requirementFrom the day Part 5.8 takes effect: no workplace surveillance tool of any kind (video, audio, location, badge logging, wearables, time tracking) monitors employees in a workplace bathroom, save a court order and one-time entry and exit checks; employees may leave a tool they carry outside the room, and a badge or alarm they must carry captures no audio or video and carries no embedded AI. (where it covers toilets or washrooms and showers or bathing areas) Cal. Lab. Code s 1560Cal. Lab. Code s 1560
• Limitsstatutory requirementReading or learning the contents of a message in transit needs the consent of every party; an organisation that deploys a third party tool doing so can be exposed too. Cal. Penal Code 631(a)Cal. Penal Code 631(a)
• Biometric datastatutory requirementBiometric data processed to identify a person is sensitive personal information; staff can limit its use to the purposes the Act and regulations allow. (when you say the business meets the CCPA thresholds) CCPA 1798.121
• Assessmentstatutory requirementCollection proportionate to its purpose; a risk assessment before processing the regulations treat as a significant risk, which includes automated inferences about employees drawn from systematic observation. (when you say the business meets the CCPA thresholds) CCPA 1798.100(c)CCPA CCR 7150
• Retentionstatutory requirementRetention periods disclosed and no longer than reasonably necessary. (when you say the business meets the CCPA thresholds) CCPA 1798.100(a)

• Noticestatutory requirementWhere the business telephone monitoring exemption is relied on: tell current and prospective employees, including by prominent signs. Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-3(j)
• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo surreptitious recording of a private conversation without the consent of every party; a business doing telephone sales, service or research may monitor its employees' calls for quality, training or research only with one active party's consent, with unmonitored personal lines, and with no onward use. Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-2(a)(1)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-2(a)(2)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-2(a)(3)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-3(j)Illinois Eavesdropping Act 14-3(j)
• Biometric datastatutory requirementBefore the first collection: written notice that a biometric identifier is collected, the specific purpose and term in writing, and a written release; a public retention schedule with destruction when the purpose is met or within three years of the last interaction; no disclosure without consent. BIPA s 15(a)BIPA s 15(b)(1)BIPA s 15(b)(2)BIPA s 15(b)(3)BIPA s 15(d)
• Retentionstatutory requirementDestroyed when the purpose is met or within three years of the last interaction, whichever comes first. BIPA s 15(a)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo intentional interception of a call, of an in-person conversation captured by a device, or of a message in transit, unless the recorder is a party to it or one party gave prior consent, and never to further an aim outside the law; contents known or suspected to come from an interception outside those terms are neither disclosed nor used. Tex. Penal Code s 16.02(b)(1)Tex. Penal Code s 16.02(c)(4)Tex. Penal Code s 16.02(b)(2) and (3)
• Limitsstatutory requirementEmail, messaging and network traffic in transit are communications the section reaches: interception needs the recorder to be a party or one party's prior consent. Tex. Penal Code s 16.02(b)(1)
• Biometric datastatutory requirementInform and obtain consent before capture; destroy within a reasonable time and at the latest one year after the purpose ends, which for an employer's security identifiers is the end of employment. Texas CUBI 503.001(b)(1)Texas CUBI 503.001(b)(2)Texas CUBI 503.001(c)(3)Texas CUBI 503.001(c-2)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementCalls, in-person conversations where privacy is expected, and electronic messages in transit: the prior consent of all parties; one party's consent, the recorder's own included, is not enough. Provider-furnished telephone equipment used in the ordinary course of business is outside the definition. Fla. Stat. 934.03(1)(a)Fla. Stat. 934.03(1)(a)Fla. Stat. 934.03(1)(a)Fla. Stat. 934.02(4)(a)Fla. Stat. 934.03(1)(d)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementRecord a call, a private conversation or a message in transit only as a party and with the prior consent of all parties. Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-402(a)(1)Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-402(a)(1)Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-402(a)(1)Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-401(8)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo secret hearing or recording of a call or of spoken words without the prior authority of all parties; open recording the speakers know about is not an interception. Tariffed business telephone equipment used in the ordinary course of business is outside the definition. M.G.L. c. 272 s. 99 C.1M.G.L. c. 272 s. 99 C.1M.G.L. c. 272 s. 99 B.3 and D.1.bM.G.L. c. 272 s. 99 C.3

• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo device to eavesdrop on a private conversation without the consent of all parties; whether a participant may record their own conversation is unsettled in the case law and recorded as such. MCL 539cMCL 539e
• Places kept privatestatutory requirement not allowed hereNo device observing, recording or eavesdropping in a private place without the consent of those entitled to privacy there. (where it covers toilets or washrooms, change or locker rooms, showers or bathing areas and lactation, nursing or parent rooms) MCL 539d(1)(a)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementNo recording of a call or conversation by a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties; where the parties have been warned of the recording, either may record. Mont. Code Ann. 45-8-213(1)(c)Mont. Code Ann. 45-8-213(3)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementPhone calls: not on one party's consent alone (the court has, as reported, required all parties); in-person private conversations: one participant's authority. NRS 200.620(1)NRS 200.650

• Recording consentstatutory requirementCalls and conversations where privacy is expected: the consent of all parties, and a party to the conversation needs every other party's consent too. RSA 570-A:2, I(a)RSA 570-A:2, I(a)RSA 570-A:2, I-aRSA 570-A:1, IV(a)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementPhone and radio communications: a non-participant needs at least one participant's consent. In-person and video conference conversations: every participant specifically informed before it is obtained. ORS 165.540(1)(a)ORS 165.540(1)(c)ORS 165.543

• Recording consentstatutory requirementCalls, in-person conversations and messages in transit: the prior consent of all parties; telephone marketing and customer service calls may be monitored for training, quality control or monitoring with one party's consent, used only for those purposes and destroyed within one year. 18 Pa.C.S. 5703(1)18 Pa.C.S. 5703(1)18 Pa.C.S. 5703(1)18 Pa.C.S. 5704(15)18 Pa.C.S. 5704(15)

• Recording consentstatutory requirementThe consent of all participants before recording a call or a private conversation; consent is obtained once a party announces the recording to all others and the announcement itself is recorded. RCW 9.73.030(1)(a)RCW 9.73.030(1)(b)RCW 9.73.030(3)

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and District of Columbia. A line at a site in one of these reads the federal layer and the ILO baseline only; no state law is placed, which is not the same as none applying.

See the specimen plan run Plan your own list