The FCC lists fines for E911 compliance violations, but civil lawsuits can prove far more financially devastating.

How much do you think an E911 compliance violation could cost your organization? $500? $5,000? $50,000?

Try $40 million – or more.

While the FCC outlines fines for E911 violations, the true cost of noncompliance is potential tragedy and a wrongful death judgment that could easily put most companies out of business.

Yet many organizations – including businesses, hospitals, schools, municipalities, and event venues – unknowingly fail to comply with Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’s Act, the federal regulations that govern E911 for multi-line telephone systems (MLTS). Moreover, some schools are noncompliant with Alyssa’s Law, a relatively new statute adopted by six U.S. states.

Here, we offer an overview of the E911 laws and the true cost of noncompliance, plus explain how to ensure your organization is compliant to prevent devastating outcomes.

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Summary

• E911 violations can carry fines of up to $10,000 plus $500 per day, per device

• Wrongful death lawsuits are costlier. Jurors in one case awarded a family more than $40 million. Another case was settled for $8 million

• Organizations must prioritize compliance with Kari’s Law, RAY BAUM’s Act, and Alyssa’s Law (for schools) to prevent tragedy, reputational damage, expensive fines, and devastating lawsuits

Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’s Act

The FCC has two major E911 mandates for organizations with multi-line telephone systems: Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’s Act. 

Kari’s Law

The law was named after Kari Hunt, who was murdered by her estranged husband in a Texas hotel room in 2013. Kari’s nine-year-old daughter attempted multiple 911 calls but couldn’t get through because she didn’t know the phone system required an access code to reach an outbound line.

Kari’s Law states that multi-line telephone systems must:

• Support direct dialing 911 (no access codes such as “9”)

• Notify a central on-site location OR an off-site location where someone is likely to see it

• Relay a callback number

• Relay caller location information

RAY BAUM’s Act

RAY BAUM’s Act mandates that all phones send accurate, dispatchable location information to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), including enhanced location identifiers such as building, floor, wing, and room number.

Related: How Telecom Makes Employees Safer

Penalties for Kari’s Law and/or RAY BAUM’s Act Noncompliance

FCC Fines

The Code of Federal Regulations outlines fines of up to $10,000 plus $500 per day, per device, for violating Kari’s Law and/or RAY BAUM’s Act. However, those fines aren’t fixed, and actual penalties could vary on a case-by-case basis. 

Civil Lawsuits

More severe penalties can come in the form of civil lawsuits. In 2018, a jury awarded Kari Hunt’s family $41.55 million in a wrongful death suit that claimed the hotel was negligent for delaying emergency response.

It’s important to understand that this was before the E911 laws were enacted, which means the hotel was technically compliant with existing laws and a jury still found it liable. Now, with E911 laws in effect, it’s not difficult to imagine a jury awarding a greater sum if an organization were found noncompliant.

In July 2022, a six-year-old boy drowned in a pool at a St. Louis County, Missouri summer camp. The county had recently upgraded its phones, but E911 wasn’t provisioned correctly, and the 911 call was routed to a special call center in Colorado, delaying emergency response. The boy’s family filed a $40 million wrongful death suit against the county, and the suit was settled for $8 million in July 2023.

These cases underscore the fact that FCC penalties, while significant, pale in comparison to the financial impact of a wrongful death suit for E911 noncompliance. 

Related: The New 911 Laws: What You Need to Know

Alyssa’s Law