New report examines health risks faced by ASL interpreters working for corporate-owned Video Relay Service providers

A new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) examines the health and safety risks facing ASL interpreters working at providers of Video Relay Service (VRS), a critical translation tool for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals funded by the federal government, used for facilitating communication with family, medical providers, emergency services, and others.

In recent years, two companies with histories of private equity ownership have controlled the overwhelming majority of the VRS market: Sorenson Communications and ZP Better Together. Their private equity owners, which have been focused on rapid profit expansion, have largely shaped the industry. Under this system, interpreters and those who rely on the service have suffered, even as federal funds paid to these companies has greatly increased in an effort to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The report highlights research studies that have explored the issue of VRS interpreters’ working conditions, poor health outcomes, and the relationship these have to the industry’s interpreter shortage. Risks facing VRS interpreters include repetitive strain injuries, harassment from callers, and burnout. Through interviews with 11 current or recent VRS interpreters employed by ZP Better Together or Sorenson, the report underscores how interpreters believe company policies contribute to poor health outcomes and high turnover in the industry. All interpreters interviewed reported some form of pain, mostly in their wrists, arms, neck, or back.

“There is not enough focus on retaining interpreters, the focus is on recruitment,” said Tracy, a VRS interpreter who formerly worked for both ZP Better Together and Sorenson. “That would cut into the profits, but churn costs money.”

In response to these issues, interpreters launched an organizing campaign with the Office of Professional Employees’ International Union (OPEIU) in September 2024. As of May 2025, Sorenson’s private equity owners, Ariel and Blackstone, and ZP Better Together’s owner, Teleperformance, have refused to meet with these interpreters about working conditions and collective bargaining rights.

“When private equity-owned firms focus on quickly increasing profits at the expense of a longterm vision for a quality VRS system, everyone suffers,” said Justin Flores, Director of Labor-Jobs at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. “In order to ensure an improved and resilient VRS system that is fully in compliance with the ADA, it is necessary for all stakeholders to have a seat at the table, including VRS providers, the FCC, academic researchers, Deaf users, and interpreters. ZP Better Together and Sorenson should refrain from anti-union efforts and meet and bargain in good faith with workers who have chosen to be represented by a union.”