North Dakota Workplace Recording Laws: Employee and Employer Rights (2026)

North Dakota is a one-party consent state under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-15-02, so an employee may record any workplace conversation they participate in without notifying coworkers or managers. Employers may still enforce no-recording policies, and violating one can result in termination even though the recording itself is not a criminal offense.

North Dakota's one-party consent law under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-15-02 gives employees broad rights to record workplace conversations. You can record in-person meetings and phone calls you participate in without informing other parties, as long as the recording is not made for criminal or unlawful purposes. Employers also have rights to conduct surveillance in appropriate areas.

This guide covers employee recording rights, employer surveillance rules, how company policies interact with state law, federal labor protections, and how workplace recordings are used in legal proceedings.

Employee Recording Rights

Recording In-Person Workplace Conversations

Under one-party consent, North Dakota employees can record face-to-face workplace interactions including:

• Meetings with supervisors and managers
• Performance reviews and disciplinary meetings
• Conversations with HR representatives
• Discussions with coworkers
• Safety briefings and verbal instructions
• Union meetings and organizing discussions

The recording must not be for criminal or unlawful purposes. Documenting harassment, preserving verbal agreements, and recording for potential litigation are all lawful purposes.

Recording Work Phone Calls

One-party consent applies to work phone calls. Under North Dakota law you can record calls with clients, conference calls, virtual meetings on Zoom or Teams, and calls with vendors you take part in without informing other participants, unless you record to commit a crime or other unlawful harm.

If anyone on the call is in an all-party consent state such as California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, or Washington, that state's law may require everyone's consent, so announce the recording on interstate calls.

The Unlawful Purpose Limitation

Even with one-party consent, recording at work becomes illegal if done for:

• Blackmail or extortion of a coworker or employer
• Facilitating fraud or theft
• Stalking or intimidating coworkers
• Any other criminal or unlawful purpose

Employer Surveillance Rights

Video Surveillance

North Dakota employers can install cameras in common work areas where employees have no reasonable privacy expectation: lobbies, sales floors, warehouses, parking lots, hallways, and cash register areas.

Prohibited Areas

No North Dakota statute lists where an employer may place cameras, but lawful workplace cameras stay out of bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, nursing rooms, and medical examination areas. Surreptitiously installing or using a recording device in a place where a reasonable individual would have an expectation of privacy, with intent to intrude on an occupant's privacy, is a class B misdemeanor under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-14. When that surreptitious recording is made to arouse or gratify sexual desires and the occupant has exposed or is likely to expose intimate parts, N.D.C.C. § 12.1-20-12.2 makes it a class A misdemeanor, or a class C felony for a repeat offense or a minor victim. Cameras in these locations can also bring civil claims, though a general invasion-of-privacy lawsuit is uncertain in North Dakota because the state Supreme Court has not decided whether that claim exists.

Audio Surveillance

Employer audio surveillance follows the same wiretap statute. An employer may record a workplace call or conversation only if it is a party to it or a participant has given prior consent, for example an employee who has agreed in writing to call monitoring. Simply being on a call the employer records is not consent. Recording employees' conversations the employer is not part of, without any participant's consent, can be a class C felony under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-15-02, apart from a narrow exclusion for phone-company equipment used in the ordinary course of business (§ 12.1-15-04(3)(a)). However, the NLRB has found that pervasive audio surveillance can interfere with employees' Section 7 rights.

Company Recording Policies

Can Employers Ban Recording?

Many employers maintain no-recording policies. These policies are enforceable as employment conditions. Key points:

• A company policy cannot make recording a crime
• Violating the policy can result in termination (North Dakota is at-will)
• The recording itself remains legally valid
• Recordings made in violation of policy can still be used as evidence

When NLRA Protections Apply

The National Labor Relations Act can protect recording when it is part of concerted activity, meaning employees acting together or on behalf of coworkers to document unsafe conditions, wage theft, or unfair labor practices. It does not cover supervisors, agricultural workers, or government employees, and a recording made only for a personal dispute is usually not protected.

Under Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023), a work rule that has a reasonable tendency to chill protected activity is presumptively unlawful unless the employer proves the rule advances a legitimate and substantial business interest that a more narrowly tailored rule could not serve. Stericycle remains the Board's standard for judging workplace rules, though the current Board has signaled it may revisit it. Overly broad policies that ban recording in all circumstances, with no safety-related carve-out, are particularly vulnerable under this standard.

Federal Protections

OSHA Whistleblower Protections

OSHA protects employees who report unsafe conditions. Recordings of safety violations support whistleblower claims under 29 U.S.C. § 660(c).

EEOC and Discrimination Documentation

Employees can use recordings to support discrimination and harassment claims filed with the EEOC. Courts evaluate these recordings on a case-by-case basis.

Using Workplace Recordings in Legal Proceedings

Lawfully made workplace recordings are generally admissible in North Dakota courts for employment lawsuits, workers' compensation claims, and administrative proceedings before the North Dakota Department of Labor. They can support claims of wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, wage theft, and retaliation.

Remote Work Monitoring

North Dakota does not have specific remote work monitoring legislation. Employers should disclose monitoring practices in writing and limit monitoring to work activities on company devices.

More North Dakota Recording Laws

Audio Recording | Video Recording | Voyeurism & Hidden Cameras | Workplace Recording | Recording Police | Phone Call Recording | Security Cameras | Recording in Public | Landlord-Tenant | Dashcam Laws | Schools | Medical Recording

Back to North Dakota Recording Laws

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I record my boss in North Dakota without telling them?

Yes. Under one-party consent, you can record workplace conversations you participate in without informing your boss. The recording must not be for criminal or unlawful purposes. Be aware your employer may have a no-recording policy that could lead to termination.

Can my employer put cameras in the workplace in North Dakota?

Yes, in common areas like lobbies, sales floors, and parking lots. No statute lists forbidden locations, but secretly recording into bathrooms, locker rooms, or changing areas with intent to intrude on privacy is a crime under N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-14. North Dakota does not require employers to notify employees about workplace cameras.

Can I be fired for recording at work in North Dakota?

Yes. While the recording is legal under state law, violating a company no-recording policy can result in termination because North Dakota is an at-will employment state. The NLRA may protect recording done as concerted activity.

Can workplace recordings be used as evidence in North Dakota?

Yes. Lawfully made workplace recordings are generally admissible in employment lawsuits, workers' compensation claims, and administrative proceedings. The recording must be authenticated and relevant.

Does the NLRA protect workplace recording in North Dakota?

It can. The NLRA protects recording that is part of concerted activity, such as employees documenting unsafe conditions or labor violations together, but not supervisors, agricultural workers, or government employees, and usually not a recording made only for a personal dispute. Overly broad no-recording policies that chill protected activity may violate the NLRA under the Board's current Stericycle standard, which the Board has signaled it may revisit.