Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025
Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 would, if enacted, require the Secretary of Labor to publicly list employers that relocate call center work or contract such work overseas. Employers on the list would become ineligible for new Federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years, with a process for removal if operations return to the United States under certain conditions. The bill also mandates initial 120-day notice before relocation, creates enforcement penalties, and gives federal contracting preference to U.S.-based employers that avoid relocating work overseas. In addition, the act imposes disclosure requirements in customer service communications (including when AI is used) and empowers the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these disclosures. It also requires reporting on federal call center locations and requires that call center work under federal contracts be performed inside the United States. The effective date is one year after enactment.
Key Points
- 1Public list and ineligibility for federal funding: Employers that relocate call center work overseas or contract such work overseas must be listed publicly and become ineligible for new Federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years after being listed. Removal from the list can occur if the operation is moved back to the U.S. with sufficient U.S. employment or if a contract is amended to require all such work to be performed in the United States.
- 2Notice and penalties: Employers must give at least 120 days’ notice to the Secretary before relocating or contracting work overseas. Violating this notice requirement could incur civil penalties up to $10,000 per day.
- 3Federal contracting preference: When awarding federal contracts, agencies must give preference to U.S. employers that do not appear on the relocation/outsourcing list.
- 4Disclosures in customer service communications: Businesses must disclose their physical location at the start of each customer service interaction and, if outside the U.S., inform customers they may request to be transferred to a U.S.-located agent. If AI is used, the entity must disclose that nonhuman assistance is being used and offer a transfer to a U.S.-based human agent. Consumers can request transfer to a U.S.-based agent, and companies must annually certify compliance to the FTC.
- 5FTC enforcement and AI-related reporting: The FTC would enforce the disclosures as unfair or deceptive practices, with penalties under the FTC Act. The bill also requires FTC regulations and a separate annual report to Congress on federal call center locations, the balance of in-house vs. contractor work, and job losses related to AI in federal call center operations. The act includes a 1-year post-enactment runway for these provisions to take effect (with related reporting due within a year).