New York recording consent law for interviews: one-party, with limits that matter in hiring

New York is a one-party consent state. Its eavesdropping law, Penal Law § 250.00, is written so that a person on a call, or present at a conversation, may record it, and an outsider may record with the consent of at least one party. What New York does not allow is recording a conversation you are not part of without any participant's consent; that is eavesdropping, a class E felony. For recruiters based in New York, the bigger risk is the other end of the call: many candidates are in all-party states, and their law may be applied to you.

Calling a candidate in another state? Run the pairing through the consent checker.

This page covers the statutory definitions, what they allow and do not allow in hiring, evidence and penalties, the employee-monitoring and AI rules New York layers on top, cross-state calls, and a consent line New York teams can use everywhere.

What the statute says

Penal Law § 250.05 makes a person guilty of eavesdropping "when he unlawfully engages in wiretapping, mechanical overhearing of a conversation, or intercepting or accessing of an electronic communication." Section 250.00 defines the three:

A phone screen falls under wiretapping, a video interview under wiretapping or electronic communication depending on the technology, and an in-person interview under mechanical overhearing. In every case, the interviewer taking part is on the lawful side of the definition.

Where New York's rule stops helping a hiring team

Interviews you are not in

A recruiter who sets up a recording or transcription of a hiring manager's interview, and is not on the call, is "a person not present thereat" or "a person other than a sender or receiver." That recruiter needs the consent of at least one participant. In practice the hiring manager's agreement covers New York's rule, but a candidate in a stricter state still needs to be told.

Note-taking tools acting for someone absent

The same analysis applies to an automated note-taker that joins a meeting on behalf of someone who is not attending. The owner of the tool is not a party to that conversation. Make sure a participant has agreed, and that everyone has been told.

Evidence

Under CPLR 4506, the contents of a communication "obtained by conduct constituting the crime of eavesdropping" may not be received in evidence in any New York court or proceeding, except against the person alleged to have committed the eavesdropping. A recording made unlawfully is not just a liability; it is also useless to you in a later dispute.

How the rule applies to interview formats

Other New York rules that sit on top

• Employee monitoring notice. Civil Rights Law § 52-c requires employers that monitor employees' telephone, email or internet use to give "prior written notice upon hiring to all employees who are subject to electronic monitoring," get an acknowledgment, and post a notice, with maximum civil penalties of $500, $1,000 and $3,000 for first, second and later offenses. It is written about employees, not candidates, but it can apply to the interviewers on your side if their calls are captured.
• Automated hiring tools in New York City. If a tool uses the interview to score or screen candidates for New York City jobs, Local Law 144 requires a bias audit and notice. See NYC Local Law 144. Recording consent does not satisfy it.

Calls from New York to other states

New York recruiters call candidates everywhere, and New York's one-party rule does not travel with them reliably. Courts have gone both ways:

• In Larrison v. Larrison, 750 A.2d 895 (Pa. Super. 2000), a Pennsylvania court applied New York's one-party law to a call recorded in New York with a person in Pennsylvania, reasoning that New York had the greater interest in allowing its residents to record lawfully.
• In Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006), California's Supreme Court applied California's all-party law to calls recorded in Georgia, a one-party state, with clients in California.

A New York recruiter cannot choose which kind of court hears a complaint. With candidates in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington, Massachusetts, or Connecticut for phone calls, the strict rule may apply. Pennsylvania-specific detail is in Pennsylvania wiretap law for interviews, and the general framework in recording calls across state lines.

What it means for recording or transcribing an interview

1. Lawful in New York is not the same as lawful on the call. The candidate's state counts too.
2. Transcription counts as acquiring the communication. The definitions speak of overhearing, recording and acquiring; text is still the contents.
3. Consent from a participant is required for anyone off the call. That includes coordinators and tools working for someone absent.
4. One script for the whole team. A New York office where some recruiters ask and others rely on one-party consent has two policies. Pick the one that works in every state.

When the candidate is the one recording

The participant rule applies to candidates as well. A candidate in New York who is on the call, or in the room, may record the interview without asking. Assume any New York interview could be recorded, keep the questions consistent and job-related, and decide in advance how to answer a candidate who asks permission. If a panel member is in an all-party state such as Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, the candidate needs that interviewer's consent under that state's rule, so it is reasonable to ask a candidate who wants to record to say so at the start.

A consent line for New York teams

"Before we start, I'd like to [record / transcribe] this interview so
my notes for the [role] position are accurate. It's seen by [who] and
deleted after [period]. If you'd rather I didn't, say so and I'll take
notes by hand. It won't affect your application. Is that OK with you?"

[Clear yes: start. No: capture stays off.]

New York does not require this sentence for a call you are on, but the candidate's state may, and it costs ten seconds. Panel, email and log versions are in the interview recording consent script.

Checklist for New York recruiters

1. Ask every candidate, wherever they are, before capture starts.
2. Never record or transcribe an interview you are not in without a participant's consent, and tell the candidate.
3. Check AI scoring tools against Local Law 144 separately.
4. If your own staff's calls are captured, check your Civil Rights Law § 52-c notice.
5. Write the rule down, date it, and apply it to every office.

New York is listed with the other one-party states, and the limits of that rule, in one-party consent states.