The City of Green Bay is being sued over recording devices in City Hall again.
WBAY reports that former Alderman Chris Wery filed the lawsuit against the City and Mayor Eric Genrich on March 2nd, saying the devices captured conversations without consent.
The audio recording devices had been installed at three locations throughout City Hall in December 2021 and July 2022 for what the city referred to as safety reasons.
Wery’s attorney, Kevin Scott, claims they violated Wisconsin’s privacy laws, despite the fact that all employees were notified of their existence.
In Wisconsin, an individual can record a conversation they are a part of, regardless of whether the other person knows they are being recorded or not, but a third party cannot record other people’s chats.
Signs were placed in the area of the devices after the first lawsuit was settled in 2024, which also resulted in a payment of $300,000 in legal fees for the city.
Scott admitted that this lawsuit and the first one are similar, but this one cites the first one as precedent.
The city has declined to comment.
