HF 1241

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/21/2019 03:45pm

A bill for an act
relating to employment; requiring notice of call center or customer service operation
relocations; providing for recapture of public subsidies; proposing coding for new
law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116L.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [116L.9761] MINNESOTA CALL CENTER JOBS ACT.
new text end

new text begin Sections 116L.9762 to 116L.9766 shall be known as the "Minnesota Call Center Jobs
Act."
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [116L.9762] DEFINITIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Application. new text end

new text begin For the purposes of sections 116L.9762 to 116L.9766, the
terms defined in this section have the meanings given them.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Agency. new text end

new text begin "Agency" means a state department under section 15.01.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Business entity. new text end

new text begin "Business entity" means any organization, corporation, trust,
partnership, sole proprietorship, unincorporated association, or venture established to make
a profit, in whole or in part, by purposefully availing itself of the privilege of conducting
commerce in Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Call center. new text end

new text begin "Call center" means a facility or other operation with employees
who receive incoming telephone calls, e-mail, or other electronic communications for the
purpose of providing customer assistance or other service.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Commissioner. new text end

new text begin "Commissioner" means the commissioner of employment and
economic development.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Employer. new text end

new text begin "Employer" means a business enterprise that employs, for the
purpose of customer service or back-office operations:
new text end

new text begin (1) 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or
new text end

new text begin (2) 50 or more employees who, in the aggregate, work at least 1,500 hours per week,
exclusive of hours of overtime.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Part-time employee. new text end

new text begin "Part-time employee" means an employee who is employed
for an average of fewer than 20 hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than
six of the 12 months preceding the date on which notice is required under section 116L.9763.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Relocating; relocation. new text end

new text begin "Relocating" or "relocation" means the closure of a
call center, the cessation of operations of a call center, or one or more facilities or operating
units within a call center comprising at least 30 percent of the call center's or operating unit's
total volume when measured against the previous 12-month average call volume of operations
or substantially similar operations, to a location outside of the United States.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [116L.9763] CALL CENTER RELOCATIONS.
new text end

new text begin (a) An employer must notify the commissioner if it intends to relocate from Minnesota
to a foreign country either of the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) a call center; or
new text end

new text begin (2) one or more facilities or operating units within a call center that comprise at least 30
percent of the call center's or operating unit's total volume when measured against the
previous 12-month average call volume of operations or substantially similar operations.
new text end

new text begin (b) The notification required under paragraph (a) must be given at least 120 days before
the relocation is to occur.
new text end

new text begin (c) An employer that violates paragraph (a) is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
$10,000 for each day of the violation, except that the commissioner may reduce the amount
for just cause shown.
new text end

new text begin (d) 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 30 percent of the call center's total volume of operations, from the United States to a
foreign country, and distribute the list to all agencies.
new text end

Sec. 4.

new text begin [116L.9764] GRANTS; LOANS; SUBSIDIES.
new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) and notwithstanding any other provision of law,
an employer that appears on the list prepared under section 116L.9763 shall be ineligible
for any direct or indirect state grants or state guaranteed loans for five years after the date
the employer is placed on the list.
new text end

new text begin (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) and notwithstanding any other provision of law,
an employer that appears on the list prepared under section 116L.9763 shall remit to the
commissioner of management and budget the unamortized value of any grants, guaranteed
loans, tax benefits, or other governmental support it has previously received.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner of management and budget, in consultation with the commissioner
of the agency providing or administering the public subsidy, may waive the ineligibility
requirement under paragraph (a) if the employer applying for the loan or grant demonstrates
that not having the loan or grant would threaten national security, result in substantial job
loss in Minnesota, or harm the environment.
new text end

Sec. 5.

new text begin [116L.9765] PROCUREMENT.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner 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 Minnesota. State contractors who currently perform work outside Minnesota
shall have two years following the effective date of this act to comply with this section.
Any new call center or customer service employees hired by the contractor during the
compliance period under this section must be employed in Minnesota.
new text end

Sec. 6.

new text begin [116L.9766] EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
new text end

new text begin Nothing in sections 116L.9762 to 116L.9766 shall be construed to permit the withholding
or denial of payments, compensation, or benefits under any other state law, including state
unemployment compensation, disability payments, or worker retraining or readjustment
funds, to employees of employers that relocate to a foreign country.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 6 are effective 180 days after final enactment.
new text end