Being compliant with Kari's Law and the RAY BAUM's Act involves companies with multiline telephone systems (MLTS) supporting specific emergency 911 functionality. Kari's Law includes direct dial to 911 services and the notification of designated personnel when an emergency call is made, while the RAY BAUM's Act relates to the identification of dispatchable locations of 911 callers. New regulations for 911 compliance ensure that companies with Convergent must keep employees safe when working internally or remotely during the event of an emergency.
Kari's Law requires that all outbound dialing MLTS must provide direct access to 911 service without the caller having to dial an initial number, digit, prefix or other access number before dialing 911. While numerous states have their own version of Kari's Law, a nationwide version, H.R. 582 (115th): Kari's Law Act of 2017, was signed into law in 2018 and took effect February 16, 2020. Kari's Law specially applies to 911 access and notification of a 911 call to a central location on the site of the facilities where a call is placed and to an optional additional location per Rule 251.15.
RAY BAUM's Act Compliance
Created to ensure faster and more accurate responses to 911 calls, Section 506 of the RAY BAUM's Act requires that all MLTS provide a "dispatchable location" on all emergency 911 calls. A dispatchable location is defined not only as the street address of the 911 calling party, but also must include additional information such as room number, floor number, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.
As a distributor of MLTS products, Convergent has the responsibility to ensure all new platforms are capable of providing dispatchable location data. Convergent has committed to meeting the requirements for all current and future platform models. In order to provide dispatchable location information, current Convergent platforms may need to be upgraded to the latest software version available.
All Convergent platforms must also support SIP Trunking in order to deliver specific location information. If you are not sure your platform is currently up to date for any of these new regulations please contact us. Our team of trusted advisors are here to provide you with the necessary support to keep your company safe and compliant.
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