News Stories
Sponsored by Earth Etch. Regulatory insight and compliance solutions for today’s energy markets.
Keep Call Centers in America And Protect Consumers From AI
Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Jim Justice (R-WV) introduced the Keep Call Centers in America Act.
This bipartisan bill if enacted would regulate call center operations and customer service disclosures.
As introduced the bill would apply to businesses with 50 or more full-time employees or those employing 50 or more workers who collectively work at least 1,500 hours per week.
The aim of the legislation seeks to address the offshoring of call center jobs and the growing use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in customer service interactions.
According to the bill’s sponsors, the intent is to improve service quality for consumers while preserving domestic employment opportunities.
If enacted, the bill would require businesses to disclose, at the outset of any customer service interaction, whether the call is being handled by a human agent located outside the United States or by an AI system. If either is the case, consumers would have the right to request transfer to a human representative physically located in the U.S. Businesses would also be required to certify compliance with these disclosure obligations annually to the Federal Trade Commission. The disclosure requirement is accompanied by enforcement provisions that treat noncompliance as a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Key Provisions of the Bill:
- Disclosure Requirements: Companies must report to the DOL when relocating call center operations to overseas locations.
- Federal Funding Restrictions: Offshoring companies are barred from receiving new federal awards and penalized on existing ones unless they relocate their operations back within a year.
- Contract Preference: Federal agencies must prioritize companies that retain domestic call center jobs.
- Transparency for Consumers: Workers must disclose whether the call is handled domestically or by AI and transfer the call to a U.S.-based center upon request.
- Reporting Mandate: The DOL would publish data on the location of federal call center operations and analyze the impact of AI on job losses in the sector.
Read full bill text here.
Senator Justice Press Release
Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) Press Release
