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My boss taped a phone conversation

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katmo102

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? California.

My manager and I were in his office, and he contacted someone by phone to ask some questions. I did not know it at the moment, but after the call was over, he picked up a small recording device and played back a bit of the conversation. He told me that he found he needed to do that to ensure that he wasn't lied to or lied about.

I left his office and was annoyed that he was doing this, as I thought that he must have been taping our conversations without me knowing it. Our relationship has been somewhat shaky, and I felt that he was trying to build a case against me to terminate me. I figured if he was taping other conversations, he must have been taping ours.

I mentioned this to an HR Consultant that works with my company. The consultant took this information and passed it on. Suffice it to say, later that evening, my manager was approached by another HR Manager, who asked him if he had been taping conversations. He told her that no, he had never done that.

After she left his office, he came out to me and asked who I had been talking to. He told me that HR Manager confronted him and he told her he didn't do it, and that she would be talking to me as well, and that we needed to get our stories straight, but not in such a way that they would think he asked me to lie for him.

Since then, we have both been counseled by HR. I believe that he was advised to treat me in a particular manner, and he has been polite to me. But I am a supervisor in the department, and we have always had to have some interaction daily. What I see now is that he greets me in the morning, says good night in the evening, but he is not including me in any issues that are happening in the department. He is effectively keeping me out of the loop.

Subsequently, I talked to HR again, and they offered to assist me with a "transition".

Is this something I can negotiate? Is there any grounds for a lawsuit?

Thank you in advance!
 


BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
Lawsuit? For what? Unless you can prove that he taped your conversations, or that this 'transition' is because of a protected status (age, sex, race....) then you have no case for anything.

For future reference, California is an ALL-party state, which requires notice that the converesation is being recorded to all persons who are a party to the conversation. You were not a party but the person being taped was. Therefore, the recording was illegal.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Is this something I can negotiate? You can try and negotiate anything. What do they mean by "transition"? A job in another department or do they mean out the door?

Is there any grounds for a lawsuit? No.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Then unfortunately, they want you gone, which is going to happen one way or another. I suggest you talk to them and find out what kind of assistance they're offering.
 

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