Staffing Agency Ruling - Do Not Call Rules on Job Offers

Interesting....from American Staffing Association:

FCC Says Do-Not-Call Rules Inapplicable to Job Offers
As has been well publicized, the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission established a national registry prohibiting telemarketing calls to consumers who have placed their numbers on a do-not-call (DNC) list. ASA has maintained that these rules should not apply to recruiter calls to job candidates when the candidates are not charged a fee. The FCC, in an opinion letter issued to a staffing firm, confirmed ASA’s interpretation of the rules.
“Telephone solicitation” is defined as “the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services.” The Telephone Consumer Protection Act and applicable regulations prohibit all telephone solicitations to “residential subscribers” who have placed their numbers on the DNC list. The FTC’s telemarketing sales rule prohibits “outbound telephone calls,” including calls “initiated by a telemarketer to induce the purchase of goods or services,” to those on the DNC list.
Given these definitions, the FCC has advised that the rules do not apply to calls made by recruiters to job candidates who are not charged a fee. Thus, staffing firms should not be required to “scrub” their calling lists against the DNC registry when calling job candidates, including initial calls to schedule screening interviews and later calls when positions become available. The rules also do not apply to calls staffing firms may make to businesses to enlist new customers.
However, calls to sell career placement services to individuals would be prohibited by the rules. For example, calls to provide counseling services or edit a résumé would not be allowed if the person called would be paying for those services.
The FCC’s position regarding telephone job offers is consistent with court rulings interpreting the do-not-fax rules. In several cases, courts have held that faxes to job candidates do not run afoul of the rules because offering jobs does not constitute the sale of goods or services.
In the context of e-mails, ASA has submitted comments to the FTC regarding the Can-Spam Act, arguing that e-mails to candidates should not be covered by the act when staffing firms are not trying to sell candidates anything. The FTC continues to promulgate rules to implement Can-Spam, and ASA will continue to try to obtain an interpretation favorable to the staffing industry.
Stephen Dwyer
www.americanstaffing.net


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