Why 911 Dispatchers Deserve 'Protective Service' Status: The Fight to Reclassify Telecommunicators

When a 911 call comes in, the person on the other end of the line makes split-second decisions that can mean the difference between life and death. They talk panicking callers through CPR,

guide parents through choking emergencies, coordinate multi-agency responses to active

threats, and relay critical information to officers, firefighters, and paramedics racing to the scene.

Yet according to the federal government, these professionals are classified the same way as data entry clerks and office receptionists. That classification is not just outdated. It is actively harming the 911 workforce, and the entire public safety community is fighting to change it. 

In this blog from NGA, we’ll discuss where the reclassification effort stands today, why it matters, and what it means for every PSAP in the country.

The Classification Problem: How 911 Dispatchers Ended Up in the Wrong Category

The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is the federal government's master

catalog of every job in the American economy. Maintained by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), the SOC determines how occupations are categorized for everything from labor

statistics to federal funding allocations.

When public safety telecommunicators were first added to the SOC decades ago, the job looked

very different. Dispatchers primarily answered phones and relayed information. The role was

placed under SOC code 43-5031, inside the 'Office and Administrative Support' category.

The problem is that the job has evolved dramatically since then, but the classification has not

kept pace. Today's 911 professionals are trained in crisis intervention, medical dispatch

protocols, hazardous materials response coordination, and advanced CAD/GIS technology. They manage multi-channel communications across voice, text, video, and data. Many provide life-saving pre-arrival instructions, including dispatcher-assisted CPR that saves thousands of lives every year.

Despite all of this, the SOC still categorizes them alongside office clerks rather than alongside the law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMTs they work with every single shift.

Why Reclassification Is Not Just About a Job Title

The SOC classification may sound like a bureaucratic detail, but it has real, tangible consequences for 911 professionals and the agencies that employ them.

Pay and Compensation

Federal, state, and local pay scales are often benchmarked to SOC categories. When telecommunicators are grouped with administrative workers, their compensation is compared to office support roles rather than protective service positions. This contributes to the persistent pay gap between dispatchers and the first responders they support.

Retirement and Benefits

Many states offer enhanced retirement benefits, hazard pay, and early retirement options for 'protective service' employees. Under the current classification, 911 professionals are typically excluded from these programs, even though they face many of the same occupational stressors as sworn personnel.

PTSD and Mental Health Recognition

Telecommunicators experience high rates of post- traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma. Research consistently shows that their exposure to traumatic events through emergency calls produces psychological impacts comparable to those experienced by field responders. 

However, because they are classified as administrative workers, many jurisdictions do not extend first responder mental health protections, workers' compensation presumptions, or peer support programs to them. States like New York have begun introducing legislation specifically to address PTSD disability retirement for dispatchers, but progress remains uneven across the country.

Recruitment and Retention

A 2023 survey by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) and the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) found that the average vacancy rate in 911 centers across America was approximately 25% over a four-year period. One agency reported a staggering 83% vacancy rate. The stress of the job and low wages were cited as the top two reasons employees leave. 

Reclassification would signal to current and prospective employees that their work is recognized as the protective service it truly is, helping agencies attract and keep qualified professionals

Where the Reclassification Effort Stands: A Historic Year for 911 Advocacy

The push to reclassify public safety telecommunicators has been building for years, led by

organizations like APCO International and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). In 2025, the effort reached a historic milestone.

Senate Passes S. 725 Unanimously

On September 10, 2025, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Enhancing First Response Act (S. 725), bipartisan legislation that would direct OMB to reclassify public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation. 

This marked the first time that reclassification legislation had ever passed a chamber of Congress. The unanimous vote reflected broad, bipartisan recognition that the current classification is outdated and does not reflect the reality of the job.

The 9-1-1 SAVES Act in the House

In the House of Representatives, the 9-1-1 SAVES Act (H.R.637) was reintroduced in February 2025 by Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). This version uses stronger directive language, requiring OMB to reclassify telecommunicators rather than merely asking the agency to consider it. 

The distinction matters: a directive ensures concrete action rather than an open-ended review that could stall indefinitely.

OMB's SOC Revision Process

In June 2024, OMB announced the beginning of a multi-year process to revise the Standard Occupational Classification system. APCO submitted detailed comments making the case for reclassification, and the organization has encouraged its members to do the same. 

This administrative pathway runs parallel to the legislative effort, and both could ultimately achieve the same result

What 'Protective Service' Classification Would Actually Change

If reclassification succeeds, public safety telecommunicators would move from SOC Major Group 43 (Office and Administrative Support) to Major Group 33 (Protective Service Occupations). This is the same category that includes police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, and security guards

Here is what that shift would mean in practice:

• Federal labor statistics would accurately reflect the protective nature of the work,

improving visibility in workforce planning and policy discussions.

• State and local agencies would have stronger justification to align telecommunicator pay, benefits, and retirement packages with other protective service roles.
• Mental health support could expand as jurisdictions update their first responder wellness programs to include the newly classified protective service workers.
• Recruitment messaging could accurately describe the role as a protective service career, helping agencies compete for talent against other industries.
• Grant eligibility could broaden, as some federal and state grant programs are specifically tied to protective service occupations.

The NG911 Connection: Why Modern Technology Makes Reclassification Even More Urgent

The transition to Next Generation 911 is adding entirely new dimensions to the telecommunicator's role. With NG911, dispatchers are not just answering phone calls. They are

managing multimedia communications that include streaming video from emergency scenes,

real-time photos, text conversations, and data feeds from connected vehicles and IoT devices.

NG911 platforms like NGA's NEXi Core and NEXi Connect require telecommunicators to operate sophisticated, cloud-based systems that handle geospatial call routing, ESInet management, and cross-jurisdictional data sharing. The technical complexity of these systems is far beyond anything that existed when the SOC first classified the role as administrative.

As NG911 adoption accelerates across the country, the gap between what telecommunicators

actually do and how the federal government categorizes them continues to widen. Reclassification is not just a matter of fairness; it is a matter of accurately reflecting the skills,

training, and responsibilities that modern emergency communications demand.

How PSAP Leaders Can Support the Reclassification Effort

The reclassification movement has built significant momentum, but it still needs support from

the public safety community. 

Here are several ways PSAP directors and 911 professionals can help move the effort forward:

• Contact your U.S. House representative and urge them to support the 9-1-1 SAVES Act (H.R. 637) with the strong directive language that requires reclassification.
• Submit comments to OMB during the SOC revision process to advocate for moving public safety telecommunicators to the protective service category.
• Share APCO's reclassification fact sheets and advocacy materials with your local elected officials and agency leadership.
• Educate your team about the reclassification effort so they understand the potential impact on their careers, benefits, and professional recognition.
• Connect with your state 911 coordinator to align state-level advocacy with the national effort. 

The People Behind the Technology Deserve Recognition

At NGA, we build the technology that powers modern 911 systems. But we know that

technology is only as effective as the professionals who operate it. 

The men and women who answer 911 calls are not administrative workers. They are the first point of contact in every emergency, and they deserve to be recognized as the protective service professionals they are.

The reclassification effort is about more than a line item in a federal database. It is about

acknowledging the courage, skill, and dedication of the people who keep our communities safe,

one call at a time.

Conclusion 

Want to learn more about how NG911 technology is transforming the telecommunicator's role? Contact NGA's team to explore our solutions!