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Legal
Considerations of Voice Logging
By
Peter DeHaan, Ph.D.
May/June, 2002
Legal issues regarding the recording of phone calls
must be considered before embarking on voice logging. This varies on a state-by-state basis. Some states and countries require "one-party
notification" in which only one of the two individuals needs to be made
aware that the call is being recorded. This,
of course, is most easily done by notifying the call center agents. This should be part of the employee handbook they receive
upon being hired. By them signing
off on the handbook, it has been documented that they have been duly notified
that the recording will take place. Check
with a local attorney familiar with state employment law, as it may be
advisable to have a separate sheet signed by each employee, which explicitly
notifies him or her that calls will be recorded.
(At least thirty-seven US States, the District of Columbia, the US
Federal law, Canada, and England only require one-party notification.
Note that there is some disagreement over the determination of the requirements
for a few states.)
The other scenario requires that both parties be made
aware that the call is being recorded; these are called "two-party
notification" states. (Depending
on the source, there are ten to thirteen US states that fit this category.)
This can be accomplished by playing a preamble recording on every call
or inserting a periodic beep tone.
The preamble recording is common, but may prove to be
a technical challenge to do so on every account. There is also the concern of how to respond to client's who
object to an automated announcement before every one of their calls.
Typical verbiage for the announcement or preamble recording is,
"Thank you for calling ABC Company, your call may be monitored for training
or quality assurance purposes."
Alternately, many voice logging systems provide an
optional beep tone. There are
specific parameters to which this beep must adhere.
According to VLR Communications, the beep tone needs to be a 1260 to
1540 Hertz tone, lasting 170 to 250 milliseconds, and broadcast for both sides
to hear every twelve to fifteen seconds when recording is taking place.
The interesting part of this requirement is that both parties must be
able to "hear" the beep tone; there is no measurable audio level
specified. Therefore, it makes
sense to set the beep level at a low volume, while still being audible to both
parties. Still, many people find
this beep tone to be disconcerting and distracting. Although call center agents typically grow used to the beep
tone and eventually tune it out (the rest, unfortunately, often end of
quitting), this is not the case with callers, who generally find the ongoing
beeping to be an annoying vexation. Callers
may even discuss the beep tone or voice recording with the agents, thereby
lengthening call time and decreasing the quality of service.
Five Websites contain information about
notification. However, they are
not in complete agreement. This
results in three different scenarios, listing ten to thirteen states that
require two-party notification. Nine
states are listed as two-party notification states by all five sources:
California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New
Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
There is contradicting information for four states, which are listed
both ways, depending on the source. These
are: Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada.
Michigan, for example, is listed as a two-party notification state on
four of the five Websites, yet two call centers in the state have separately
had their attorneys research state law and court interpretation.
Both lawyers independently concluded that only one-party notification
is required for voice logging calls in a call center environment.
Regardless of this information, be sure to consult a
local attorney for their opinion and guidence before proceeding with any
recording of phone calls.
Also, there are privacy concerns and issues.
In general, one should take every possible precaution to avoid
recording personal phone calls. A practical way of doing so is to only record conversations
in the call center (and explicitly not in the breakroom or on any common area
telephone) and to have an enforced policy against placing or receiving
personal phone calls while in the operations room.
These steps will help to ensure that personal phone calls are not
inadvertently recorded and that privacy rights are not encroached.
Again, obtain legal counsel before recording any phone calls.
Websites containing relevant information about notification and privacy, and used
as sources, are:
·
www.vlrcommunications.com:
Lists notification requirements for all fifty states also gives technical
specifications for beep tone.
·
www.rcfp.org/taping/:
Provides information about each state, also encourages caution on taping
interstate calls.
Also,
see legal considerations, notification
requirements, and the vendor comparison
chart.
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