Introduced Version
House Bill 2277 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2277
(By Delegates Caputo, Guthrie, Barill, Fleischauer,
Manypenny, Boggs, Hamilton, Pethtel, Marshall
and D. Poling)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Energy, Industry and Labor, Economic
Development and Small Business.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §21-16-1, §21-16-2,
§21-16-3, §21-16-4, §21-16-5 and §21-16-6, all relating to
discouraging employers from closing call centers and other
customer service operations in West Virginia and relocating
overseas; notice requirement; and civil penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §21-16-1, §21-16-2,
§21-16-3, §21-16-4, §21-16-5 and §21-16-6, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. SAVE WEST VIRGINIA CALL CENTER JOBS ACT.
§21-16-1. Short title.
____________________________________________This article shall be called the "Save West Virginia Call
Center Jobs Act of 2013".
§21-16-2. Definitions.
____________________________________________As used in this article:
____________________________________________(1) The term "call center" means one or more locations that
utilize telecommunications services in one or more of the following
activities: Customer services, soliciting sales, reactivating
dormant accounts, conducting surveys or research, fund raising,
collection of receivables, receiving reservations, receiving orders
or taking orders.
____________________________________________(2) The term "employer" means any business enterprise that
employs for the purpose of customer service or back-office
operations:
____________________________________________(A) Fifty or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or
____________________________________________(B) Fifty or more employees who in the aggregate work at least
one thousand five hundred hours per week (exclusive of overtime).
____________________________________________(3) The term "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.
____________________________________________(4) The term "commissioner" means the State Commissioner of
Labor.
____________________________________________(5) The term "division" means the West Virginia Division of
Labor.
§21-16-3. List of call centers that move overseas; notice and
penalties.
_____(a) Notice requirement.-- (1) In General - An employer that
intends to relocate a call center, or one or more facilities or operating units within a call center comprising 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, from West Virginia
to a foreign country shall notify the commissioner at least one
hundred twenty days before such relocation.
_____(2) Penalty. -- An employer that violates subdivision (1) of
this subsection is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed an
amount of $10,000 for each day of such violation, except that the
commissioner may reduce such amount for just cause shown.
_____(b) List.--
_____(1) Compilation.-- The commissioner shall compile a semiannual
list of all employers that relocate a call center, or one or more
facilities or operating units within a call center comprising at
least forty percent of the call center's total volume of
operations, from West Virginia to a foreign country.
_____(2) Distribution.-- The commissioner shall distribute the list
required in subdivision (1) of this subsection to all state
agencies.
§21-16-4. Grants or guaranteed loans.
_____(a) Ineligibility.-- Except as provided in subsection (b), and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employer that
appears on the list described in subsection (b), section three of this article is ineligible for any direct or indirect state grants
or state guaranteed loans for five years after the date such list
is published.
_____(b) Reversion.-- Except as provided in subsection (c) and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employer that
appears on the list described in subsection (b), section three of
this article shall remit the unamortized value of any grant,
guaranteed loans, tax benefits, or any other governmental support
it has previously received to the State Treasurer.
_____(c) Exceptions.- - The commissioner in consultation with the
appropriate agency providing a loan or grant, may waive the
ineligibility requirement provided under subsection (a) of this
section if the employer applying for such loan or grant
demonstrates that a lack of such loan or grant would:
_____(1) Threaten national security;
_____(2) Result in substantial job loss in West Virginia; or
_____(3) Harm the environment.
§21-16-5. In-state procurement.
_____The head of each agency shall ensure that all
state-business-related call center and customer service work be
performed by state contractors or their agents or subcontractors
entirely within the State of West Virginia. State contractors who
currently perform such work outside of West Virginia shall have two
years following the enactment of this article to comply with this section: Provided, That if any such grand fathered contractors add
customer service employees who will perform work on such contracts,
those new employees shall immediately be employed within the State
of West Virginia.
§21-16-6. State benefits for workers.
_____No provision of this article may be construed to permit
withholding or denial of payments, compensation, or benefits under
any state law (including state unemployment compensation,
disability payments, or worker retraining or readjustment funds) to
workers employed by employers that relocate to a foreign country.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to discourage employers from
closing call centers and customer service operations in the State
of West Virginia and relocating overseas.
This article is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.