Illinois employers had been able to rely upon Illinois' prohibition against all non-consensual recording of conversations, whether private or not. As of March 20, 2014, that prohibition no longer exists. 

In two companion cases that arose outside of the employment context, the Illinois Supreme Court invalidated Illinois' eavesdropping statute, 720 ILCS 5/14-2 (the "Statute"), reasoning that its broad prohibition against all non-consensual recording of conversations and publishing those recordings violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.  

These decisions highlight the need for Illinois employers to revisit or implement thoughtful policies prohibiting workplace recording. Without a statute prohibiting this conduct, employers seeking to limit or prohibit audio recording will need policies that address this issue consistent with their culture and applicable law, including principles under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In addition, multi-state employers should be prepared to see constitutional challenges to eavesdropping/wiretapping statutes in other states that, like Illinois, require that all parties to recorded conversations consent to the recording. However, given some of the unique elements of the Illinois law, these challenges will likely fail. Continue reading this article here.