Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025
Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 aims to discourage moving call-center work overseas and to increase transparency in customer service. It would require employers with large call-center operations to notify the federal government before relocating or contracting work abroad, create a public list of such employers, and bar them from new federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years. It would also push federal contracting to favor United States–based operations and require that call-center work under federal contracts be performed inside the United States. Separately, the bill would require clear disclosures at the start of customer service conversations—about the agent’s physical location and whether AI is being used—and would give consumers a mechanism to be connected to a US-based human operator. The bill sets up enforcement through the Federal Trade Commission and requires annual certification of compliance.
Key Points
- 1Public list and penalties for relocating or contracting call-center work overseas
- 2- Employers must notify about relocations 120 days in advance; violations carry civil penalties up to $10,000 per day.
- 3- The Secretary of Labor must create and maintain a public list of such employers for up to five years, with removal possible if operations return to the U.S. or all US-based workers are employed under the relevant contract.
- 4Ineligibility for federal grants/loans and contracting preferences
- 5- Employers on the list generally become ineligible for new direct or indirect federal grants or federal guaranteed loans for five years.
- 6- There are exceptions if an employer certifies and then meets criteria to be removed within 180 days; penalties and clawbacks apply if they fail.
- 7- Federal contracting preference for not-relocating employers when awarding civilian or defense-related contracts.
- 8National scope and timing
- 9- Effective one year after enactment; requires reporting on federal call-center work locations and the share performed by federal employees vs. contractors.
- 10- Requires that call-center work tied to federal contracts be performed inside the United States.
- 11Title II: disclosures in customer service communications
- 12- Businesses must disclose the physical location of agents at the start of customer-service calls or messages and indicate if the location is outside the U.S., with an option for the consumer to be transferred to a US-based agent.
- 13- If AI is used, it must be disclosed that a nonhuman system is handling the interaction, with an option to switch to a human operator located in the U.S.
- 14- Annual certification to the FTC confirming compliance with these disclosures; FTC to develop implementing regulations.
- 15Enforcement and scope
- 16- FTC enforcement for violations of the disclosures, treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
- 17- Regulations and further details to be developed by the FTC; exemptions possible for certain entities or emergency scenarios.