New York Telemarketing Law Requires Immediate Disclosure of DNC Right

In December 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that requires telemarketers to advise consumers at the very beginning of telemarketing calls of their right to be placed on the company’s Do-Not-Call (DNC) list. This amends existing law (Section 399-Z) that had required telemarketers to disclose the right to be added to the seller’s entity-specific DNC list during a call but had not stipulated when the disclosure had to be made. Understandably, many telemarketers chose not to provide the disclosure at the beginning of the call, resulting in consumers hanging up before being able to hear the disclosure. Therefore, earlier this year, the NY Senate and Assembly passed this new bill.

In sum, this important new law specifically requires these disclosures be provided first in the call:

1. the telemarketer’s name and the person on whose behalf the solicitation is being made (if other than the telemarketer), and
2. the option to be automatically added to the seller’s entity-specific DNC list.

Only then shall the telemarketer proceed with:

1. whether the call is being recorded,
2. the purpose of the call, and
3. an identification of the goods or services for which a fee will be charged.

The law also means that clients who deliver legal pre-recorded messages will need to include an automatic means by which the call recipient can opt-out of future calls.

Violations of the law are subject to penalties of up to $11,000 by the Secretary of State. The law will take effect 90 days from the date of the Governor’s signature, or March 6, 2023.

If your company places calls to New York residents, we recommend that you adjust your telemarketing scripts to ensure they include this disclosure. Agents should be trained on the requirement to provide the disclosure and on how to respond when a consumer makes a request to be added to the internal DNC list.

If your company sends solicitous pre-recorded messages the messages should be edited to provide the automatic opt-out option.

Reach out to us at connect@compliancepoint.com if you have any questions about how this New York telemarketing law or any other laws could impact your marketing efforts.