1 - If this pans out to be true then it is inexcuseable.
2 - Presuming that the reference by the one employee of having "openingly recorded" the conversation means that the guy informed Willie that he was audibly recording him with a sound recording device then it would give creedence to the idea this was a joke or this guy is so racist that he didn't care if he was recorded.
I doubt the audio recording (presuming there is one; the story is not clear) was done out in the open but was hidden on the employees person or nearby. To do this the employee would have had to actually ask for permission which my gut says is not the case.
The simple reference by CNN to "openly recorded" is supposed to cover the employees ass legally. If he can't prove he got permission then any charges could be dropped. It wouldn't save this guy's job but it would show that such recording is illegal.
If he didn't get permission and a court allows the recording to stand as evidence then I would say "Let the floodgates open!" Imagine recording conversations at Union meetings, liberal kook get togethers, political offices, etc. without permission.
University classrooms.