BLR's HR Hotline provides plain language answers to your most pressing questions by our team of in-house subject matter experts.

Q&A: What steps should an employer take if they discover a hidden camera in the workplace?

We recently discovered a hidden camera in the public lobby area of our business in Nevada. The camera was not placed there by the employer. What notifications or communication should we provide to employees, if any, who work in the practice?

Nevada law prohibits any person from listening to, monitoring, or recording a private conversation by any mechanical, electronic, or other listening device, unless authorized to do so by one of the parties to the conversation. See NRS 200.650. Since you did not place the camera/do the recording, you would not be in violation of Nevada law.

While we do not see any notification requirements, it may be a good idea to notify the police, as the culprit responsible for the camera would be guilty of a category D felony. The police may also be able to ensure that there are no other hidden cameras on the premises.

While you are not required to notify employees, it could be worthwhile to do so. Employees may have seen something suspicious, and by making them aware, they could be watchful to help ensure further incidents do not occur.

From an employee relations perspective, transparency is a good policy, particularly in case such recordings are made public. Telling employees now would avoid any negative inference later, should the fact of the hidden camera or its recordings come to light.

What is HR Hotline?

Subscribers of HR Hero® get access to our team of in-house subject matter experts. HR Hotline allows subscribers to submit questions and receive timely, thorough, and plain-language answers from our team of experts—complete with resources and references.

The purpose of HR Hotline is to help connect workplace human resources questions to the material provided by BLR on its subscriber websites. While the service is defined as providing advice, it is assistance to help bridge the gap between the BLR compliance resources and our client’s workplace issues. It is not a legal opinion or replacement for seeking legal counsel.