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REFERENCE TITLE: call center relocation; notice; penalty |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session 2021
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SB 1703 |
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Introduced by Senators Mendez: Contreras, Gonzales, Navarrete, Quezada, Steele; Representatives Andrade, Hernandez M, Salman
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AN ACT
Amending Title 44, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding Chapter 38; relating to business 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 38, to read:
CHAPTER 38
CALL CENTER RELOCATION
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
44-7921. Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Agency" means a department or agency of the executive branch of state government.
2. "Employer" means a 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.
44-7922. Call center relocation; notification; civil penalty
A. An employer that intends to relocate a call center from this state to another state or 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 comprise at least thirty percent 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 of not to exceed $10,000 for each day of the violation, except that the director of the industrial commission of Arizona may reduce the amount for just cause.
44-7923. 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 another state or to a foreign country. The list shall include the name of the employer and the date on which the call center was relocated. 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 percent 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.
44-7924. 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 44-7923:
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.
3. Shall pay the state all tax credits and subsidies that the employer has received.
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. Result in substantial job loss in this state.
2. Harm the environment.
3. Result in a significant economic impact to this state.
44-7925. State business call centers; contractor requirements
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. A state contractor that performs call center or customer service work may not hire an individual to perform that work at a location outside of this state.
C. State contractors that currently perform the work outside of this state shall comply with this section by November 1, 2022 except that beginning November 1, 2021 all new customer service employees hired by a contractor to perform work on the contracts shall immediately be employed within this state.
44-7926. State benefits for workers
This chapter does not allow the withholding or denial of payments, compensation or benefits under any other law to workers who are employed by employers that relocate to another state or to a foreign country.
Sec. 2. Effective date
This act is effective from and after October 31, 2021.
Sec. 3. Short title
This act may be cited as the "Consumer Protection Call Center Act of 2021".