A2651

An Act concerning the relocation of call centers and supplementing chapter 21 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Save New Jersey Call Center Jobs Act.”

2. For the purposes of this act:

“Call center” means a facility or other operation whereby workers receive telephone calls or emails or other electronic communication for the purpose of providing customer assistance or other service.

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.

“Employer” means any business entity that employs 50 or more full-time workers or 50 or more workers that in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, excluding overtime hours, for the purpose of staffing a call center.

3. a. Any employer that relocates a call center, or transfers one or more facilities or operating units comprising at least 30 percent of a call center’s total operating volume of telephone calls, emails, or other electronic communications when measured against the previous 12 month average volume of those operations, from the State of New Jersey to one or more foreign countries shall notify the commissioner at least 120 days prior to the relocation or transfer of operations.

b. Any employer that violates the notification requirement pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each day the employer fails to provide the notification, collectible by the commissioner in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penatly Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The commissioner shall have the authority to waive this penalty.

c. Nothing set forth in this act shall be construed as creating, establishing, or authorizing a private cause of action by an aggrieved person against an employer who has violated, or is alleged to have violated, subsection a of this section.

4. The commissioner shall compile and maintain a list of all employers that provide notification pursuant to subsection a. of section 3 of this act. The commissioner shall update the list on a monthly basis and an employer shall remain on the list for a period not to exceed three years after each instance of notification pursuant to subsection a. of section 3 of this act. The commissioner shall make the list of employers available to the public and prominently display a link to the list on the Internet website of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

5. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, an employer that is added to the list compiled and maintained by the commissioner pursuant to section 4 of this act shall be ineligible to receive any direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, and any other financial support for the five years following the date upon which the employer is added to the list.

b. An employer that is added to the list compiled and maintained by the commissioner pursuant to section 4 of this act shall remit to the appropriate governmental entity the unamortized value of any direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, and any other financial support provided to the employer by the State governmental entity.

c. The commissioner, in consultation with the appropriate governmental entity providing any direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, or any other financial support to an employer, may waive the requirement provided for in subsection b. of this section if it is demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that the requirement of subsection b. of this section would result in a substantial loss of jobs in this State or harm the environment.

6. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a State department or agency, in making or awarding a contract for call center services, shall grant a preference for such contract to qualified businesses located in the State and employing residents of the State, up to the limits set forth under rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to section 8 of this act.

7. Nothing in this act shall be construed to permit the withholding or denial of payments, compensation, or benefits under any State law, including unemployment benefits, disability benefits, or worker retraining or readjustment benefits to workers employed by employers that relocate a call center or transfer one or more facilities or operating units of a call center to a foreign country.

8. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to identify qualified businesses under section 6 of this act. The rules and regulations shall also set forth limits on the amount of preference that may be given to a qualified business located in the State employing residents of the State.

9. This act shall take effect 181 days following the date of enactment, and shall apply only to a relocation of a call center or a transfer of one or more facilities or operating units of a call center occurring after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires any employer that relocates a call center, or that transfers one or more facilities or operating units comprising at least 30 percent of a call center’s total operating volume of telephone calls or emails or other electronic communications when measured against the previous 12 month average volume of those operations, from the State of New Jersey to one or more foreign countries to notify the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development at least 120 days prior to the relocation or transfer of operations.

The bill provides that any employer that violates the notification requirement will be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each day the employer fails to provide the notification.

For the purposes of the bill, “call center’ is defined as a facility or other operation whereby workers receive incoming telephone calls, emails, or other electronic communication for the purpose of providing customer assistance or other service. The bill defines “employer” as any business entity that employs 50 or more full-time workers or 50 or more workers that in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, excluding overtime hours, for the purpose of staffing a call center.

The bill requires the commissioner to compile and maintain a list of all employers that provide the notification required by the bill. The list will be updated on a monthly basis and an employer will remain on the list for a period not to exceed three years after each instance of the required notification. The bill also requires that the commissioner make the list of employers available to the public and prominently display a link to the list on the Internet website of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The bill also provides that an employer that is added to the list compiled and maintained by the commissioner will be ineligible to receive any direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, and any other financial support provided by the State for the five years following the date upon which the employer is added to the list. Any employer that is added to this list is also required to remit to the commissioner the unamortized value of any direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, and any other financial support provided to the employer by the State.

The commissioner, in consultation with the appropriate governmental entity providing any direct or indirect State grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, or any other financial support to an employer, may waive the remittance requirement if it is demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that the requirement would result in a substantial loss of jobs in this State or harm the environment.

Finally, the bill provides that a State department or agency, in making or awarding a contract for call center services, will grant a preference for that contract to qualified businesses located in the State and employing residents of the State, up to the limits set forth under rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner.