Text Recruiting Laws – TCPA Compliance

Texting is becoming the fastest most efficient way to connect with potential job applicants. In fact, more than 95 percent of texts are opened and over 35 percent of texts are responded to within twelve minutes. Texting blows email out of the water in time to respond making the recruiting process more efficient.

A crucial part that talent acquisition specialists and leaders must understand is that text messaging must align with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act controls telemarketing calls, automatically dialed calls, pre recorded calls, texts, and unsolicited faxes. Similar to do not call lists, potential applicants have the right to opt in and out.

How does the Telephone Consumer Protection Act change recruiting with text messaging?

All text messaging from businesses must comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA for short). Here are a few pieces of important information recruiters need to know.

Many recruiters think that recruiting messages sent by text are not under the umbrella of telemarketing or advertising and therefore exempt. Through previous cases it has been made clear that opt outs,and the ability to terminate communication is necessary in order to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Rules for Auto-responses and texting bots.

First, FCC Rules state that On-Demand Text Messages Do Not Violate the TCPA. On July 10, 2015, the FCC made a declaratory ruling, stating that no longer is TCPA consent disclosures required as long as SMS autoresponders meet the following criteria:

• If the text message is requested by the consumer.
  
  
• If the text message is a one-time only message sent immediately in response to a specific consumer request.
  
  
• Or the text message contains only the information requested by the consumer with no other marketing or advertising information.
  
  

This clears up any confusion about the ability to automatically respond to consumer initiated messages.

The bottom line: As employers collect phone numbers from candidates the most important thing to do is to get their permission in order to text them in the future as well as letting candidates unsubscribe anytime.