United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2017

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. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2017 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Agency The term agency (2) Business entity The term business entity (3) Call center The term call center (4) Consumer The term consumer (5) Customer service communication The term customer service communication (6) Employer The term employer (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 (8) Relocating and relocation The terms relocating relocation (9) Secretary The term Secretary (10) Telecommunication The term telecommunication (11) Wire communication and communication by wire The term wire communication communication by wire 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 paragraph (2) 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 paragraph (1) 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 Federal 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. 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. 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. 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) (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 (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.

Summary: United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2017 This bill requires a business that employs 50 or more call center employees, excluding part-time employees, or 50 or more call center employees who in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, exclusive of overtime, to notify the Department of Labor at least 120 days before relocating such center outside of the United States. Violators are subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day. Labor must make publicly available a list of all such employers that relocate a call center. It may 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. Employers must remain on the list for up to three years after each relocation. An employer is 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. Federal or state executive agencies or military departments, when awarding a civilian or defense-related contract, must give preference to a U.S. employer that does not appear on the list. Businesses that initiate or receive a customer service communication must require each of their 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. The bill 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. Upon request, businesses must transfer a customer to a customer service agent who is physically located in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may exclude certain classes or types of business entities or customer service communications from the requirements of this bill under exceptionally compelling circumstances. The bill sets forth authority for the FTC to enforce against violations.