S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7311
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             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:
 
   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, EMPLOY-
 EE 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

 S. 7311                             2
 
 OVER THE PREVIOUS TWELVE MONTHS, from New York state to a foreign  coun-
 try  [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  subdivi-
 sion three of this section, available to the public and shall prominent-
 ly 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 bene-
 fits 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 NOTWITH-
 STANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, A CALL CENTER EMPLOYER THAT APPEARS
 ON THE LIST DESCRIBED IN SECTION SEVEN HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE  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 AGREE-
 MENT 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 effec-
 tive 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 great-
 er  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 legisla-
 tive bills numbers S. 1826-C and A. 567-C, takes effect.