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REFERENCE TITLE: call center relocation; notice; penalty |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fiftieth Legislature Second Regular Session 2012
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HB 2733 |
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Introduced by Representatives Gallego, Gonzales, Hale, Miranda C, Miranda R, Pancrazi, Patterson, Tovar, Wheeler: Alston, Arredondo, Campbell, Farley, Hobbs, Saldate, Senator Gallardo
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AN ACT
amending title 44, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 35; relating to call center relocation.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 44, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 35, to read:
CHAPTER 35
CALL CENTER RELOCATION
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
44-7801. Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Agency" means any department or agency of the executive branch of state government.
2. "Employer" means any business entity that employs either of the following for the purpose of customer service or back office operations:
(a) Fifty or more employees, excluding part‑time employees.
(b) Fifty or more employees who in the aggregate work at least one THOUSAND FIVE hundred hours per week, not including overtime hours.
3. "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.
44-7802. Call center relocation; notification; civil penalty
A. An employer that intends to relocate a call center from this state to a foreign country shall notify the director of the department of economic security of that intention at least one hundred twenty days before the relocation. For the purposes of this subsection, "call center" includes a call center or one or more facilities or operating units within a call center that comprises at least thirty per cent of the call center's or operating unit's total volume when measured against the previous twelve month average call volume of operations or substantially similar operations.
B. An employer that violates this section is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each day of the violation except that the director of the industrial commission may reduce the amount for just cause.
44-7803. Semiannual employer list; distribution
A. The director of the department of economic security shall compile a semiannual list of all employers that relocate a call center from this state to a foreign country. For the purposes of this subsection, "call center" includes a call center or one or more facilities or operating units within a call center that comprise at least forty per cent of the call center's total volume of operations.
B. The director of the department of economic security shall distribute the list required in this section to all agencies.
44-7804. Ineligibility for grants and loans; remittance of monies; exceptions
A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section and notwithstanding any other law, an employer that appears on the list prescribed by section 44‑7803:
1. Is not eligible for any direct or indirect state grants or state guaranteed loans for five years after the date that the list is published.
2. Shall remit the unamortized value of any grant, guaranteed loans, tax benefits or other governmental support the employer has previously received to this state.
B. The Arizona commerce authority, in consultation with the appropriate agency providing a loan or grant, may waive the ineligibility or remittance requirement prescribed in subsection A of this section if the employer applying for the loan or grant demonstrates that a lack of the loan or grant would do any of the following:
1. Threaten national security.
2. Result in substantial job loss in this state.
3. Harm the environment.
44-7805. State business call center in this state
A. The director of each agency shall ensure that all call centers related to state business and all customer service work is performed by state contractors or their agents or subcontractors entirely within this state.
B. State contractors who currently perform the work outside of this state shall comply with this section by November 1, 2014 except that beginning November 1, 2012 all new customer service employees hired by a contractor to perform work on the contracts shall immediately be employed within this state.
44-7806. State benefits for workers
This act shall not be construed to permit the withholding or denial of payments, compensation or benefits under any other law to workers who are employed by employers that relocate to a foreign country.
Sec. 2. Effective date
This act is effective from and after October 31, 2012.
Sec. 3. Short title
This act may be cited as the "Save Arizona Call Center Jobs Act of 2012".