United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2017

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.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov