The "Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025" seeks to discourage the relocation of call center operations and contracted call center work outside the United States. It defines a call center broadly to include operations with employees handling incoming calls, emails, or electronic communications for customer assistance, whether in facilities or remotely. Relocation or contracting overseas is triggered when at least 30 percent of a call center's volume is moved to a location outside the U.S. A core provision requires employers to notify the Secretary of Labor 120 days before relocating a call center or contracting work overseas, with a penalty for non-compliance. The Secretary must then establish and maintain a publicly available list of these employers, who will remain on it for up to five years. Inclusion on this list renders employers ineligible for new federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years and can lead to penalties or cancellation of existing awards. Exceptions to the ineligibility for federal funds can be granted if a lack of funding would threaten national security, result in substantial U.S. job loss, or harm the environment. The bill also mandates that federal agencies give preference to U.S. employers not on the list when awarding contracts and requires all call center work under federal contracts to be performed within the United States. Furthermore, the legislation introduces significant disclosure requirements for customer service communications. Business entities must ensure their agents disclose their physical location at the start of each customer service interaction. If the agent is located outside the United States, the consumer must be informed of their right to request a transfer to a U.S.-based agent. For communications involving artificial intelligence, businesses must disclose that a nonhuman system is being used and offer the consumer the option to be transferred to a U.S.-based human operator . The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is tasked with promulgating regulations for these disclosures and enforcing compliance, with annual certification required from business entities. The Secretary of Labor is also required to report to Congress on federal call center work locations and the impact of artificial intelligence on related job losses.
The "Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025" seeks to discourage the relocation of call center operations and contracted call center work outside the United States. It defines a call center broadly to include operations with employees handling incoming calls, emails, or electronic communications for customer assistance, whether in facilities or remotely. Relocation or contracting overseas is triggered when at least 30 percent of a call center's volume is moved to a location outside the U.S. A core provision requires employers to notify the Secretary of Labor 120 days before relocating a call center or contracting work overseas, with a penalty for non-compliance. The Secretary must then establish and maintain a publicly available list of these employers, who will remain on it for up to five years. Inclusion on this list renders employers ineligible for new federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years and can lead to penalties or cancellation of existing awards. Exceptions to the ineligibility for federal funds can be granted if a lack of funding would threaten national security, result in substantial U.S. job loss, or harm the environment. The bill also mandates that federal agencies give preference to U.S. employers not on the list when awarding contracts and requires all call center work under federal contracts to be performed within the United States. Furthermore, the legislation introduces significant disclosure requirements for customer service communications. Business entities must ensure their agents disclose their physical location at the start of each customer service interaction. If the agent is located outside the United States, the consumer must be informed of their right to request a transfer to a U.S.-based agent. For communications involving artificial intelligence, businesses must disclose that a nonhuman system is being used and offer the consumer the option to be transferred to a U.S.-based human operator . The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is tasked with promulgating regulations for these disclosures and enforcing compliance, with annual certification required from business entities. The Secretary of Labor is also required to report to Congress on federal call center work locations and the impact of artificial intelligence on related job losses.