Bill Text: NY S07311 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the New York call center jobs act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-02-05 - referred to ways and means [S07311 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S07311-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7311

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 17, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the New York  call  center
          jobs act

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Sections 770, 771, 772 and 773 of the labor law,  as  added
     2  by  a  chapter  of  the laws of 2019, amending the labor law relating to
     3  enacting the "New York call center jobs act", as proposed in legislative
     4  bills numbers S. 1826-C and A. 567-C, are amended to read as follows:
     5    § 770. Definitions. As used in this article:
     6    1. The term "call center" means a facility or other operation  whereby
     7  employees  receive phone calls or other electronic communication for the
     8  purpose of providing customer assistance [or other service].
     9    2. (a) The term "call center employer" means any business entity  that
    10  employs fifty or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or fifty
    11  or  more  employees  that in the aggregate work at least fifteen hundred
    12  hours per week, excluding overtime hours, for the purpose of staffing  a
    13  call center.
    14    (b)  The  term  "part-time employee" means an employee who is employed
    15  for an average of fewer than twenty hours  per  week  or  who  has  been
    16  employed  for  fewer than six of the twelve months preceding the date on
    17  which notice is required under this article.
    18    (c) The term "tax credit" means  any  of  the  following  tax  credits
    19  allowed  under  the tax law: recovery tax credit, tax-free New York area
    20  tax elimination credit, minimum wage reimbursement credit, empire  state
    21  jobs  retention  program  credit,  economic  transformation and facility
    22  redevelopment program tax credit, excelsior jobs program credit, employ-
    23  ee training incentive program tax credit,  empire  state  apprenticeship
    24  program tax credit, and employment incentive tax credit.
    25    § 771. List of relocated call centers.  1. A call center employer that
    26  intends  to relocate a call center or more than thirty percent of a call
    27  center's employees measured as the  employment  level  of  the  previous
    28  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
        S. 7311                             2

     1  over the previous twelve months, from New York state to a foreign  coun-
     2  try  [or  any other state, or reduce call volume handled at call centers
     3  in New York state by at least  thirty  percent,  measured  as  the  call
     4  volume  of  the  previous calendar month compared to the average monthly
     5  call volume of the previous twelve months, and intends to relocate  such
     6  operations from New York state to a foreign country or any other state,]
     7  shall  notify the commissioner at least [one hundred] ninety days before
     8  such relocation.
     9    2. A call center  employer  that  violates  subdivision  one  of  this
    10  section  shall  be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand
    11  dollars for each day of such violation, except that the commissioner may
    12  reduce such amount for just cause shown.
    13    3. The commissioner shall compile an annual list of  all  call  center
    14  employers  that relocate [or reduce call volume] pursuant to subdivision
    15  one of this section, and such list shall be made available to the public
    16  and shall prominently display a link to the  list  on  the  department's
    17  website.  The  commissioner  shall  provide  a  copy of such list to the
    18  commissioner of taxation and finance.
    19    [4. The commissioner shall make the list created pursuant to  subdivi-
    20  sion three of this section, available to the public and shall prominent-
    21  ly display a link to the list on the department's website.]
    22    § 772. Grants,  guaranteed  loans  and  tax  benefits.  1.  Except  as
    23  provided in subdivision [three] four of this section and notwithstanding
    24  any other provision of law, a call center employer that appears  on  the
    25  list  described  in  section  seven  hundred seventy-one of this article
    26  shall be ineligible to enter into any  agreements  for  any  [direct  or
    27  indirect]  state  grants[,]  or state guaranteed loans[, tax benefits or
    28  other financial governmental support] for a period of  five  years  from
    29  the date such list is published.
    30    2.  Except as provided in subdivision [three] four of this section and
    31  notwithstanding any other provision of law, a call center employer  that
    32  appears  on  the  list described in section seven hundred seventy-one of
    33  this article shall remit the unamortized value of  any  state  grant  or
    34  state  guaranteed  loans[,  or  any  tax  benefits or other governmental
    35  support] it has  previously  received  [in  the  past  five  years.  The
    36  provisions  of  this subdivision shall apply to grants, loans, tax bene-
    37  fits and financial governmental assistance that is entered  into  on  or
    38  after  the effective date of this article] for the call center appearing
    39  on the list, if the agreement for such grants and loans was entered into
    40  after the effective date of this article. Nothing  in  this  subdivision
    41  shall  be  deemed to prevent the call center employer from receiving any
    42  grant to provide training or other employment assistance to  individuals
    43  who  are  selected  as  being  in  particular  need of training or other
    44  employment assistance due to the transfer  or  relocation  of  the  call
    45  center employer's facility or operating units.
    46    3. Except as provided in subdivision four of this section and notwith-
    47  standing any other provision of law, a call center employer that appears
    48  on the list described in section seven hundred seventy-one of this arti-
    49  cle  shall not be allowed any tax credit described in subdivision (c) of
    50  section seven hundred seventy of  this  article  for  the  five  taxable
    51  years, excluding short taxable years, immediately succeeding the taxable
    52  year  in which the call center first appears on such list, if the agree-
    53  ment for such tax credit was entered into after the  effective  date  of
    54  this article.
    55    4.  The  commissioner,  in  consultation  with  the appropriate agency
    56  providing a loan [or], grant[,] or tax credit may waive the  requirement
        S. 7311                             3

     1  provided under subdivision one, two or three of this section if the call
     2  center employer demonstrates that such requirement would:
     3    (a) threaten state or national security;
     4    (b) result in substantial actual or potential job loss in the state of
     5  New York; or
     6    (c) harm the environment.
     7    If  the  commissioner waives such requirement, such commissioner shall
     8  promptly notify the commissioner of taxation and finance of such waiver.
     9    § 773. Procurement contracts. The head of each state agency shall  use
    10  reasonable  best  efforts  to  ensure  that  all  state-business-related
    11  contracts for call center and customer  service  work  be  performed  by
    12  state  contractors or other agents or subcontractors entirely within the
    13  state of New York. [State contractors who currently  perform  such  work
    14  outside  the state of New York shall have two years following the effec-
    15  tive date of this article to comply with this section; provided, that if
    16  any such contractors which perform work outside this state adds customer
    17  service employees who will perform work on  such  contracts,  those  new
    18  employees  shall  immediately  be employed within the state of New York,
    19  except that businesses subject to a contract  agreed  to  prior  to  the
    20  effective date of this article with terms extending beyond a date great-
    21  er  than  two  years  after  the effective date of this article shall be
    22  subject to the provisions of this subdivision at the next point in which
    23  the contract is subject to renewal] Presence on the  list  described  in
    24  section  seven hundred seventy-one of this article shall be considered a
    25  negative indication of ability to maintain jobs in the state as part  of
    26  any vendor responsibility analysis.
    27    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
    28  manner as a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the labor law relating
    29  to enacting the "New York call center jobs act", as proposed in legisla-
    30  tive bills numbers S. 1826-C and A. 567-C, takes effect.