VA would provide counseling and work safeguards for crisis line workers

The Department of Veterans Affairs would ensure workers can access free, confidential mental health care and support. Coverage would include VA employees and contractors who answer or help respond to Veterans Crisis Line contacts. Services would be available during and outside scheduled hours, with that time treated as paid duty time. Using services could not harm workers' employment, performance reviews, or career advancement. Training to build coping skills and prevent burnout would occur at least annually.

VA would set workload, rest, staffing, and scheduling rules for crisis line workers. The rules would cover employees and contractors answering or helping respond to crisis line contacts, including digital cases. Required recovery breaks would follow highly stressful contacts under VA criteria and approval procedures. VA would offer voluntary overtime when contact volume or waiting queues exceed set thresholds.

VA would identify disruptive contact patterns and could issue warnings, restrict call handling for repeated misuse, or direct people to other resources. Procedures would target patterns of abusive contacts or contacts without a crisis that seriously interfere with the line's work. Any action would need safeguards preserving access for people experiencing a real crisis. Actions would require supervisor review and periodic reassessment.