Kentucky HB 260: AN ACT relating to call centers.

Bill Text

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AN ACT relating to call centers. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 337 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) As used in this section: 5
(a) "Call center" means a facility or operation where workers receive incoming 6
and make outgoing telephone calls, e-mail messages, or other electronic 7
communication to provide customer assistance or other customer service. 8
(b) "Employer" means any business enterprise that employs for the purpose of 9
staffing customer service or back-office operations: 10
1. Fifty (50) or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or 11
2. Fifty (50) or more employees who, in the aggregate, work at least one 12
thousand five hundred (1,500) hours per week, not including overtime 13
hours. 14
(c) "Part-time employee" means an employee who is employed by an employer 15
for an average of fewer than twenty (20) hours per week or for fewer than 16
six (6) of the twelve (12) months preceding the date on which notice is 17
required under this section. 18
(d) "State agency" means any state executive branch agency. 19
(2) An employer that intends to relocate from Kentucky to a foreign country a call 20
center, or one (1) or more facilities or operating units within a call center 21
comprising at least thirty percent (30%) of the total volume of the call center or 22
operating unit when measured against the average call volume of operations or 23
substantially similar operations over the previous twelve (12) months, shall notify 24
the secretary of the Labor Cabinet at least one hundred and twenty (120) days 25
before such a relocation. 26
(3) (a) Beginning six (6) months after the effective date of this Act, and every six 27

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(6) months thereafter, the secretary of the Labor Cabinet shall compile a list 1
of every employer that has relocated to a foreign country a call center or 2
one (1) or more facilities or operating units within a call center comprising 3
at least thirty percent (30%) of the total volume of the call center or 4
operating unit when measured against the average call volume of 5
operations or substantially similar operations over the previous twelve (12) 6
months. 7
(b) The secretary of the Labor Cabinet shall make the list of employers 8
available to the public, display the list on the Internet Web site of the Labor 9
Cabinet, and distribute the list to all state agencies. 10
(4) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, and notwithstanding 11
any other provision of law, an employer that appears on the list described in 12
subsection (3) of this section shall not be eligible for any direct or indirect 13
state grants, state-guaranteed loans, or state tax benefit for five (5) years 14
after the date the list is published. 15
(b) The secretary of the Labor Cabinet, in consultation with the appropriate 16
state agency proving a loan or grant, may waive the ineligibility 17
requirement provided under this subsection if the employer applying for the 18
loan or grant has demonstrated that a lack of the loan or grant would result 19
in substantial job loss in the Kentucky, or would harm the environment in 20
Kentucky. 21
(5) The head of each state agency shall ensure that all state-business-related call 22
center and customer service work is performed by state contractors or other 23
agents or subcontractors entirely within Kentucky. State contractors who perform 24
such work outside of Kentucky shall have two (2) years following the effective 25
date of this Act to comply with this subsection; provided, that if any such 26
contractor that performs work outside of Kentucky adds customer service 27

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employees who will perform work on such contracts, those new employees shall 1
immediately be employed in Kentucky. 2
(6) No provision of this section shall be construed to permit the withholding or denial 3
of payments, compensation, or other benefits under any other state law, including 4
unemployment insurance benefits, disability payments, or worker retraining or 5
readjustment funds, to workers employed by employers that relocate to a foreign 6
country. 7
Section 2. KRS 337.990 is amended to read as follows: 8
The following civil penalties shall be imposed, in accordance with the provisions in KRS 9
336.985, for violations of the provisions of this chapter: 10
(1) Any firm, individual, partnership, or corporation that violates KRS 337.020 shall be 11
assessed a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than 12
one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense. Each failure to pay an employee the 13
wages when due him under KRS 337.020 shall constitute a separate offense. 14
(2) Any employer who violates KRS 337.050 shall be assessed a civil penalty of not 15
less than one hundred dollars ($100)