United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2013 - Requires a business enterprise that employs 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, or 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, exclusive of overtime, in a call center to notify the Secretary of Labor at least 120 days before relocating such center outside of the United States. Subjects violators to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 a day. Directs the Secretary to establish, maintain, and make publicly available a list of all such employers that relocate a call center. Authorizes the Secretary to remove from the list an employer that has relocated the call center from a location outside the United States to a location inside the United States.
Requires such an employer to remain on the list for up to three years after each relocation. Makes such an employer ineligible for federal grants or federal guaranteed loans for five years after being added to the list, except where the employer demonstrates that a lack of such loan or grant would threaten national security, result in substantial job loss in the United States, or harm the environment. Requires the head of federal or state executive agency or military department, when awarding a civilian or defense-related contract, to give preference to a U.S. employer that does not appear on the list.
Requires a business entity that initiates or receives a customer service communication to require each of its employees or agents participating in the communication to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each such communication unless all involved employees or agents are located in the United States. Exempts any communication: (1) initiated by a consumer if the consumer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or agent is located outside the United States, or (2) related to the provision of emergency services. Requires such a business entity, upon request, to transfer a customer to a customer service agent who is physically located in the United States.
Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to exclude certain classes or types of business entities or customer services communications from the requirements of this Act under exceptionally compelling circumstances. Sets forth enforcement provisions.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2909 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2909
To require the Secretary of Labor to maintain a publicly available list
of all employers that relocate a call center overseas, to make such
companies ineligible for Federal grants or guaranteed loans, and to
require disclosure of the physical location of business agents engaging
in customer service communications, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2013
Mr. Bishop of New York (for himself, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Michaud, Mr.
Grimm, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, and Mr. Gibson) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services,
Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and the Workforce, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Labor to maintain a publicly available list
of all employers that relocate a call center overseas, to make such
companies ineligible for Federal grants or guaranteed loans, and to
require disclosure of the physical location of business agents engaging
in customer service communications, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``The United States Call Center Worker
and Consumer Protection Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means a Federal or State
executive agency or a military department.
(2) Business entity.--The term ``business entity'' means
any organization, corporation, trust, partnership, sole
proprietorship, unincorporated association, or venture
established to make a profit, in whole or in part, by
purposefully availing itself of the privilege of conducting
commerce in the United States.
(3) Call center.--The term ``call center'' means a facility
or other operation whereby employees receive incoming telephone
calls, emails, or other electronic communication for the
purpose of providing customer assistance or other service.
(4) Consumer.--The term ``consumer'' means any individual
within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States who
purchases, transacts, or contracts for the purchase or
transaction of any goods, merchandise, or services, not for
resale in the ordinary course of the individual's trade or
business, but for the individual's use or that of a member of
the individual's household.
(5) Customer service communication.--The term ``customer
service communication'' means any telecommunication or wire
communication between a consumer and a business entity in
furtherance of commerce.
(6) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means any business
enterprise that employs in a call center--
(A) 50 or more employees, excluding part-time
employees; or
(B) 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work
at least 1,500 hours per week (exclusive of hours of
overtime).
(7) Part-time employee.--The term ``part-time employee''
means an employee who is employed for an average of fewer than
20 hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than 6 of
the 12 months preceding the date on which notice is required.
(8) Relocating and relocation.--The terms ``relocating''
and ``relocation'' refer to the closure of a call center, or
the cessation of operations of a call center, or 1 or more
facilities or operating units within a call center comprising
at least 30 percent of the call center's, or operating unit's,
total volume when measured against the previous 12-month
average call volume of operations or substantially similar
operations to a location outside of the United States.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
(10) Telecommunication.--The term ``telecommunication''
means the transmission, between or among points specified by
the communicator, of information of the communicator's
choosing, without change in the form or content of the
information as sent and received.
(11) Wire communication and communication by wire.--The
term ``wire communication'' or ``communication by wire'' means
the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and
sounds of all kinds by aid of wire, cable, or other like
connection between the points of origin and reception of such
transmission, including all instrumentalities, facilities,
apparatus, and services (among other things, the receipt,
forwarding, and delivery of communications) incidental to such
transmission.
SEC. 3. LIST OF CALL CENTERS RELOCATING OVERSEAS AND INELIGIBILITY FOR
GRANTS OR GUARANTEED LOANS.
(a) List.--
(1) Notice requirement.--
(A) In general.--Not fewer than 120 days before
relocating a call center to a location outside of the
United States, an employer shall notify the Secretary
of such relocation.
(B) Penalty.--A person who violates subparagraph
(A) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
$10,000 for each day of violation.
(2) Establishment and maintenance of list.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish,
maintain, and make available to the public a list of
all employers who relocate a call center as described
in paragraph (1)(A).
(B) Term.--Each employer included in the list
required by subparagraph (A) shall remain on the list
for a period not to exceed 3 years after each instance
of relocating a call center.
(C) Removal.--The Secretary may remove an employer
from the list required by subparagraph (A) if the
Secretary determines that the employer has relocated a
call center from a location outside of the United
States to a location in the United States.
(b) Ineligibility for Grants or Guaranteed Loans.--
(1) Ineligibility.--Except as provided in subsection (b)
and notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employer who
appears on the list required by subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be
ineligible for any direct or indirect Federal grants or Federal
guaranteed loans for 5 years after the date such employer was
added to the list.
(2) Exceptions.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
appropriate agency providing a loan or grant, may waive the
eligibility restriction provided under subsection (a) if the
employer applying for such loan or grant demonstrates that a
lack of such loan or grant would--
(A) threaten national security;
(B) result in substantial job loss in the United
States; or
(C) harm the environment.
(c) Preference in Federal Contracting for Not Relocating a Call
Center Overseas.--The head of an agency, when awarding a civilian or
defense-related contract, shall give preference to a United States
employer that does not appear on the list required by subsection
(a)(2)(A).
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date
that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR WORKERS.
No provision of section 3 shall be construed to permit withholding
or denial of payments, compensation, or benefits under any provision of
Federal law (including Federal unemployment compensation, disability
payments, or worker retraining or readjustment funds) to workers
employed by employers that relocate operations outside the United
States.
SEC. 5. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE BY BUSINESS ENTITIES ENGAGED IN CUSTOMER
SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS OF PHYSICAL LOCATION.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), a business
entity that either initiates or receives a customer service
communication shall require that each of its employees or agents
participating in the communication disclose their physical location at
the beginning of each customer service communication so initiated or
received.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) Business entities located in the united states.--The
requirements of subsection (a) shall not apply to a customer
service communication involving a business entity if all of the
employees or agents of the business entity participating in
such communication are physically located in the United States.
(2) Communication initiated by consumer knowingly to
foreign entity or address.--The requirements of subsection (a)
shall not apply to an employee or agent of a business entity
participating in a customer service communication with a
consumer if--
(A) the customer service communication was
initiated by the consumer;
(B) the employee or agent is physically located
outside the United States; and
(C) the consumer knows or reasonably should know
that the employee or agent is physically located
outside the United States.
(3) Emergency services.--The requirements of subsection (a)
shall not apply to a customer service communication relating to
the provision of emergency services (as defined by the Federal
Trade Commission).
(4) Business entities and customer service communications
excluded by federal trade commission.--The Federal Trade
Commission may exclude certain classes or types of business
entities or customer service communications from the
requirements of subsection (a) if the Commission finds
exceptionally compelling circumstances that justify such
exclusion.
(c) Transfer to U.S.-Based Customer Service Center.--A business
entity that is subject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall, at
the request of a customer, transfer the customer to a customer service
agent who is physically located in the United States.
(d) Certification Requirement.--Each year, each business entity
that participates in a customer service communication shall certify to
the Federal Trade Commission that it has complied or failed to comply
with the requirements of subsections (a) and (c).
(e) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall promulgate
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of
this section.
(f) Effective Date.--The requirements of subsection (a) shall apply
with respect to customer service communications occurring on or after
the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) In General.--Any failure to comply with the provisions of
section 5 shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
(b) Powers of Federal Trade Commission.--
(1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall prevent
any person from violating section 5 and any regulation
promulgated thereunder, in the same manner, by the same means,
and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though
all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into
and made a part of this Act.
(2) Penalties.--Any person who violates regulations
promulgated under section 5 shall be subject to the penalties
and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the
Federal Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by the same
means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties as
though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act were incorporated into and made part of this
Act.
(c) Authority Preserved.--Nothing in this section or section 5
shall be construed to limit the authority of the Federal Trade
Commission under any other provision of law.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
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