Sponsors (81)
The bill formally recognizes 911 telecommunicators in the SOC—improving data, recognition, and the potential for future supports—while not delivering immediate funding and risking short-term data disruption or a rushed implementation.
Public safety telecommunicators (911 dispatchers) will be officially classified as protective-service workers, giving them formal federal recognition and improving the accuracy of occupational data used for workforce planning.
Local governments and emergency response agencies will have more accurate SOC data to plan staffing and resource needs for 911 centers and related emergency services.
Telecommunicators could gain access to better-targeted training, support, and mental health resources by being aligned with other protective-service occupations.
Reclassifying telecommunicators in the SOC does not itself provide new funding, pay, or benefits, so workers may receive recognition without immediate material improvements.
A rapid 30-day deadline to implement the classification change could strain OMB resources and produce a rushed or technical update with limited stakeholder input.
Changing occupational codes can cause short-term disruptions in data series, complicating trend analysis and planning for researchers and local planners.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires OMB to classify public safety telecommunicators as Protective Service Occupations in the federal SOC within 30 days of enactment.
Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reclassify public safety telecommunicators (911 dispatchers and similar PSTs) in the federal Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system as a Protective Service Occupation. The Director must make the change within 30 days of enactment so the SOC reflects PSTs as part of protective services rather than their previous category. The bill notes PSTs perform critical, trauma-exposed lifesaving work (caller negotiation, coaching during active incidents, situational awareness for responders) and says reclassification corrects a misalignment between their duties and existing occupational statistics and related classification systems.
Official title: To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to review and make certain revisions to the Standard Occupational Classification System, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 22, 2025 by Norma Judith Torres · Last progress January 22, 2025