Bill that will Regulate Sending Call Centers Overseas Slowly Gaining Momentum

A bill that will add extra steps and costs for companies that want to move their call centers overseas was introduced in congress last year. While the bill has a long way to go before it becomes law, it has slowly been gaining momentum. It now has 32 co-sponsors. The bill requires businesses with at least 50 call center employees to notify the Department of Labor at least 120 days before moving their call center out of the country. Failure to do so could result in fines up to $10,000 per day. Also included in this bill, businesses with call centers outside of the US must require their agents to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each call. Read a summary and the text of the bill here. Learn about additional telemarketing rules here.
 

FCC Publishes Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

After several weeks of anticipation, the FCC has officially published its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls. As stated in the press release, "In this Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, as part of our multiple-front battle against unwanted calls, we propose and seek comment on ways to address the problem of unwanted calls to reassigned numbers. This problem subjects the recipient of the reassigned number to annoyance and wastes the time and effort of the caller while potentially subjecting the caller to liability." Read the press release, which includes instructions for commenting, here. Learn more about FCC Telemarketing Laws, new FCC Rules, and telemarketing regulations.
 

Florida Bill will Regulate Ringless Voicemail

The Governor of Florida has signed a bill that will regulate ringless voicemail by expanding the definition of a "telephonic sales call" to include "voicemail transmissions." As defined in the bill, "voicemail transmissions" are "technologies that deliver a voice message directly to a voicemail application, service, or device." Read the full text of the bill here. To learn more about ringless voicemail compliance, contact a telemarketing attorney who can perform a full telemarketing compliance audit of your business's telemarketing compliance.