December 05, 2011
In New York, the director of the Division of Consumer Protection who enforces New York State’s “do-not-call” law confirmed that the state would enforce its law against a professional fundraiser selling items on behalf of a charity even though the charity would be exempt from the list law if it sold those goods “in-house.” This answer raises a constitutional problem with regard to violation of equal protection guarantees, but was expected given New York’s enforcement history.
Comment: The equal protection problem arises because a charity selling in-house would be exempt from the restriction, but a smaller organization who could not afford in-house solicitors would be subject to the “do-not-call” list. The same disparity exists with regard to application of the national “do-not-call” list by the FTC.