A bipartisan bill in the state Legislature would provide legal immunity to 911 dispatchers who transfer calls to the suicide hotline. Critics say the bill is unnecessary and could impede justice for the injured.

By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is trying to bring immunity protections to 911 dispatchers.

A bill proposed in June would provide immunity protections for 911 call centers or dispatchers when they transfer calls to the suicide hotline.

“My concern is that under current law, if an incident such as self-harm occurs during this transfer, the 911 dispatcher could be open to civil liability,” state Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp), one of the bill’s authors, wrote in an email to The Badger Project. “This bill would protect dispatchers who are acting in good faith.” 

Exceptions include “gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct,” according to the bill’s text.

Since the Wisconsin suicide hotline was established in 2022, it has answered more than 180,000 calls in the state, according to data maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Right now, government employees in Wisconsin can already be shielded from civil liability and can even receive total immunity in certain cases where they were exercising discretion as part of their official duties, said Noah Domnitz, the president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice, an organization of attorneys who advocate for the right of the wrongly injured to sue in civil court. The association is the only entity to have taken a position against the bill.

Domnitz, who is also an attorney for a Milwaukee-based personal injury firm, said that he’s “not aware of a single case where somebody has held a 911 dispatcher accountable because they’ve transferred a call.”

He believes the idea of immunity effectively closes “the courthouse doors to the wronged individual.”

Wisconsin law already caps claims against government employees at $50,000 in most injury cases, Domnitz said. The law also often gives these employees immunity when the civil claim involves an employee using discretion in their official capacity.

“Between those two protections, it seems like adding now another layer of immunity is unnecessary,” Domnitz said.

The Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association is the only organization that has officially lobbied for the bill.

The bill comes as 911 centers continue to experience staffing shortages in Wisconsin and nationwide.

Results from a national survey published in 2023 suggest a vacancy rate of 25% across all 911 centers in the U.S. between 2019 and 2022. Almost a third of the centers surveyed reported “stunning vacancy rates” in 2022. Some of the top reasons dispatchers quit include work hours, pay, and stress associated with the job. 

The state Legislature has yet to act on the bill and lawmakers are on summer break until after Labor Day when the full body returns for an official floor period.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.