,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #biji ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,august #a1 #bjac ,mr4 ,bishop of ,new ,york 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,mc,kinley1 ,mr4 ,michaud1 ,mr4 ,grimm1 ,mr4 ,gene ,green of ,texas1 and ,mr4 ,gibson7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,armed ,services1 ,oversight and ,government ,reform1 and ,education and the ,workforce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,labor to maintain a publicly available list of all employers that relocate a call center overseas1 to make such companies ineligible for ,federal grants or guaranteed loans1 and to require disclosure of the physical location of business agents engaging in customer service communications1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,the ,united ,states ,call ,center ,worker and ,consumer ,protection ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,agency ,the term agency means a ,federal or ,state executive agency or a military department4 7#b7 ,business entity ,the term business entity means any organization1 corporation1 trust1 partnership1 sole proprietorship1 unincorporated association1 or venture established to make a profit1 in whole or in part1 by purposefully availing itself of the privilege of conducting commerce in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,call center ,the term call center means a facility or other operation whereby employees receive incoming telephone calls1 emails1 or other electronic communication for the purpose of providing customer assistance or other service4 7#d7 ,consumer ,the term consumer means any individual within the territorial jurisdiction of the ,united ,states who purchases1 transacts1 or contracts for the purchase or transaction of any goods1 merchandise1 or services1 not for resale in the ordinary course of the individual's trade or business1 but for the individual's use or that of a member of the individual's household4 7#e7 ,customer service communication ,the term customer service communication means any telecommunication or wire communication between a consumer and a business entity in furtherance of commerce4 7#f7 ,employer ,the term employer means any business enterprise that employs in a call center-- 7,a7 #ej or more employees1 excluding part-time employees2 or 7,b7 #ej or more employees who in the aggregate work at least #a1ejj hours per week 7exclusive of hours of overtime74 7#g7 ,part-time employee ,the term part-time employee means an employee who is employed for an average of fewer than #bj hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than #f of the #ab months preceding the date on which notice is required4 7#h7 ,relocating and relocation ,the terms relocating and relocation refer to the closure of a call center1 or the cessation of operations of a call center1 or #a or more facilities or operating units within a call center comprising at least #cj percent of the call center's1 or operating unit's1 total volume when measured against the previous #ab-month average call volume of operations or substantially similar operations to a location outside of the ,united ,states4 7#i7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,labor4 7#aj7 ,telecommunication ,the term telecommunication means the transmission1 between or among points specified by the communicator1 of information of the communicator's choosing1 without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received4 7#aa7 ,wire communication and communication by wire ,the term wire communication or communication by wire means the transmission of writing1 signs1 signals1 pictures1 and sounds of all kinds by aid of wire1 cable1 or other like connection between the points of origin and reception of such transmission1 including all instrumentalities1 facilities1 apparatus1 and services 7among other things1 the receipt1 forwarding1 and delivery of communications7 incidental to such transmission4 #c4 ,list of call centers relocating overseas and ineligibility for grants or guaranteed loans 7a7 ,list 7#a7 ,notice requirement 7,a7 ,in general ,not fewer than #abj days before relocating a call center to a location outside of the ,united ,states1 an employer shall notify the ,secretary of such relocation4 7,b7 ,penalty ,a person who violates subparagraph 7,a7 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed #aj1jjj for each day of violation4 7#b7 ,establishment and maintenance of list 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish1 maintain1 and make available to the public a list of all employers who relocate a call center as described in paragraph 7#a77;,a74 7,b7 ,term ,each employer included in the list required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall remain on the list for a period not to exceed #c years after each instance of relocating a call center4 7,c7 ,removal ,the ,secretary may remove an employer from the list required by subparagraph 7,a7 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 ,states4 7b7 ,ineligibility for grants or guaranteed loans 7#a7 ,ineligibility ,except as provided in subsection 7b7 and notwithstanding any other provision of law1 an employer who appears on the list required by subsection 7a77#b77;,a7 shall be ineligible for any direct or indirect ,federal grants or ,federal guaranteed loans for #e years after the date such employer was added to the list4 7#b7 ,exceptions ,the ,secretary1 in consultation with the appropriate agency providing a loan or grant1 may waive the eligibility restriction provided under subsection 7a7 if the employer applying for such loan or grant demonstrates that a lack of such loan or grant would-- 7,a7 threaten national security2 7,b7 result in substantial job loss in the ,united ,states2 or 7,c7 harm the environment4 7c7 ,preference in ,federal contracting for not relocating a call center overseas ,the head of an agency1 when awarding a civilian or defense-related contract1 shall give preference to a ,united ,states employer that does not appear on the list required by subsection 7a77#b77;,a74 7d7 ,effective date ,this section shall take effect on the date that is #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,rule of construction related to ,federal benefits for workers ,no provision of section #c shall be construed to permit withholding or denial of payments1 compensation1 or benefits under any provision of ,federal law 7including ,federal unemployment compensation1 disability payments1 or worker retraining or readjustment funds7 to workers employed by employers that relocate operations outside the ,united ,states4 #e4 ,required disclosure by business entities engaged in customer service communications of physical location 7a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subsection 7b71 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 received4 7b7 ,exceptions 7#a7 ,business entities located in the ,united ,states ,the requirements of subsection 7a7 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 ,states4 7#b7 ,communication initiated by consumer knowingly to foreign entity or address ,the requirements of subsection 7a7 shall not apply to an employee or agent of a business entity participating in a customer service communication with a consumer if-- 7,a7 the customer service communication was initiated by the consumer2 7,b7 the employee or agent is physically located outside the ,united ,states2 and 7,c7 the consumer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or agent is physically located outside the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,emergency services ,the requirements of subsection 7a7 shall not apply to a customer service communication relating to the provision of emergency services 7as defined by the ,federal ,trade ,commission74 7#d7 ,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 7a7 if the ,commission finds exceptionally compelling circumstances that justify such exclusion4 7c7 ,transfer to ,u4,s4-,based customer service center ,a business entity that is subject to the requirements of subsection 7a7 shall1 at the request of a customer1 transfer the customer to a customer service agent who is physically located in the ,united ,states4 7d7 ,certification requirement ,each year1 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 7a7 and 7c74 7e7 ,regulations ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,federal ,trade ,commission shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section4 7f7 ,effective date ,the requirements of subsection 7a7 shall apply with respect to customer service communications occurring on or after the date that is #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #f4 ,enforcement 7a7 ,in general ,any failure to comply with the provisions of section #e shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section #ah7;a77#a77;,b7 of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #eg;a7a77#a77;,b77 regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices4 7b7 ,powers of ,federal ,trade ,commission 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,federal ,trade ,commission shall prevent any person from violating section #e and any regulation promulgated thereunder1 in the same manner1 by the same means1 and with the same jurisdiction1 powers1 and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #da et seq47 were incorporated into and made a part of this ,act4 7#b7 ,penalties ,any person who violates regulations promulgated under section #e shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act in the same manner1 by the same means1 and with the same jurisdiction1 power1 and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act were incorporated into and made part of this ,act4 7c7 ,authority preserved ,nothing in this section or section #e shall be construed to limit the authority of the ,federal ,trade ,commission under any other provision of law4