NJ ‘Seinfeld’ law forces telemarketers to be more transparent

There are new rules for the folks behind those unwanted phone calls.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation into law on Monday that forces telemarketers to reveal additional information about their employer within the first 30 seconds of a call.

With the law, telemarketers not only have to share their name and the purpose of their call — those pieces of information are already required — but must also tell you the name and telephone number of the person or business they're representing.

During its approval process, the legislation was referred to as the "Seinfeld Bill." In a season-four episode of the NBC sitcom, Jerry asks a telemarketer for his home phone number.

"When you answer a telemarketer's call, you should know right up front who they are and who they work for," said Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Union, a primary sponsor of the measure. "If they're on the up and up, telemarketing firms should have no issue with this bill."

A violation of the bill is considered a disorderly persons offense and can be subject to other applicable penalties.

Under the measure, telemarketers are also forced to display their mailing address and the address of the business they represent on their website and on any written communication to a customer.

The law doesn't take effect for another seven months.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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