Protect Call Center Jobs

Section 1. Sections 770, 771, 772 and 773 of the labor law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the labor law relating to enacting the "New York call center jobs act", as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 1826-C and A. 567-C, are amended to read as follows:

§ 770. Definitions. As used in this article:

1. The term "call center" means a facility or other operation whereby employees receive phone calls or other electronic communication for the purpose of providing customer assistance [or other service].

2. (a) The term "call center employer" means any business entity that employs fifty or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or fifty or more employees that in the aggregate work at least fifteen hundred hours per week, excluding overtime hours, for the purpose of staffing a call center.

(b) The term "part-time employee" means an employee who is employed for an average of fewer than twenty hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than six of the twelve months preceding the date on which notice is required under this article.

(c) The term "tax credit" means any of the following tax credits allowed under the tax law: recovery tax credit, tax-free New York area tax elimination credit, minimum wage reimbursement credit, empire state jobs retention program credit, economic transformation and facility redevelopment program tax credit, excelsior jobs program credit, employee training incentive program tax credit, empire state apprenticeship program tax credit, and employment incentive tax credit.

§ 771. List of relocated call centers. 1. A call center employer that intends to relocate a call center or more than thirty percent of a call center's employees measured as the employment level of the previous calendar month compared to the average employment level at such site

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02106-10-0

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over the previous twelve months, from New York state to a foreign country [or any other state, or reduce call volume handled at call centers in New York state by at least thirty percent, measured as the call volume of the previous calendar month compared to the average monthly call volume of the previous twelve months, and intends to relocate such operations from New York state to a foreign country or any other state,] shall notify the commissioner at least [one hundred] ninety days before such relocation.

2. A call center employer that violates subdivision one of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each day of such violation, except that the commissioner may reduce such amount for just cause shown.

3. The commissioner shall compile an annual list of all call center employers that relocate [or reduce call volume] pursuant to subdivision one of this section, and such list shall be made available to the public and shall prominently display a link to the list on the department's website. The commissioner shall provide a copy of such list to the commissioner of taxation and finance.

[4. The commissioner shall make the list created pursuant to subdivision three of this section, available to the public and shall prominently display a link to the list on the department's website.]

§ 772. Grants, guaranteed loans and tax benefits. 1. Except as provided in subdivision [three] four of this section and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a call center employer that appears on the list described in section seven hundred seventy-one of this article shall be ineligible to enter into any agreements for any [direct or indirect] state grants[,] or state guaranteed loans[, tax benefits or other financial governmental support] for a period of five years from the date such list is published.

2. Except as provided in subdivision [three] four of this section and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a call center employer that appears on the list described in section seven hundred seventy-one of this article shall remit the unamortized value of any state grant or state guaranteed loans[, or any tax benefits or other governmental support] it has previously received [in the past five years. The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to grants, loans, tax benefits and financial governmental assistance that is entered into on or after the effective date of this article] for the call center appearing on the list, if the agreement for such grants and loans was entered into after the effective date of this article. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to prevent the call center employer from receiving any grant to provide training or other employment assistance to individuals who are selected as being in particular need of training or other employment assistance due to the transfer or relocation of the call center employer's facility or operating units.

3. Except as provided in subdivision four of this section and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a call center employer that appears on the list described in section seven hundred seventy-one of this article shall not be allowed any tax credit described in subdivision (c) of section seven hundred seventy of this article for the five taxable years, excluding short taxable years, immediately succeeding the taxable year in which the call center first appears on such list, if the agreement for such tax credit was entered into after the effective date of this article.

4. The commissioner, in consultation with the appropriate agency providing a loan [or], grant[,] or tax credit may waive the requirement

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provided under subdivision one, two or three of this section if the call center employer demonstrates that such requirement would:

(a) threaten state or national security;

(b) result in substantial actual or potential job loss in the state of New York; or

(c) harm the environment.

If the commissioner waives such requirement, such commissioner shall promptly notify the commissioner of taxation and finance of such waiver.

§ 773. Procurement contracts. The head of each state agency shall use reasonable best efforts to ensure that all state-business-related contracts for call center and customer service work be performed by state contractors or other agents or subcontractors entirely within the state of New York. [State contractors who currently perform such work outside the state of New York shall have two years following the effective date of this article to comply with this section; provided, that if any such contractors which perform work outside this state adds customer service employees who will perform work on such contracts, those new employees shall immediately be employed within the state of New York, except that businesses subject to a contract agreed to prior to the effective date of this article with terms extending beyond a date greater than two years after the effective date of this article shall be subject to the provisions of this subdivision at the next point in which the contract is subject to renewal] Presence on the list described in section seven hundred seventy-one of this article shall be considered a negative indication of ability to maintain jobs in the state as part of any vendor responsibility analysis.

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the labor law relating to enacting the "New York call center jobs act", as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 1826-C and A. 567-C, takes effect.