New Bill Would Make Dispatchers and Call Takers First Responders Nationwide

Legislation has been introduced that would make dispatchers and call takers officially recognized as first responders across the country.

According to the website for California Representative Norma Torres—who is a co-sponsor of the bill along with Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina—the proposed legislation seeks to reclassify communications officers nationally from a non-protective service occupation to a protective one in the Standard Occupational Classification system, giving dispatchers recognition as first responders.

"As a former dispatcher, I know first-hand the challenges our public safety dispatchers face, the stress they are under, and the importance of their work," Torres said in a statement. "You'd be hard-pressed to find administrative staff who are required to undergo the amount of training and evaluation that's required of public safety telecommunicators."

House Resolution 1629—dubbed the 9-1-1 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services (SAVES) Act—is currently under consideration by the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor.