Article 2 - Relocation of Call Centers

California Labor Code — §§ 1409-1413

Sections (6)

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 752, Sec. 4. (AB 1601) Effective January 1, 2023.

(a)This article shall apply to an employer’s relocation of a call center, as defined in this article.

(b)The definitions set forth in this subdivision shall apply to the construction and meaning of terms used in this article. The definitions set forth in Section 1400.5 also apply to this article, except for the definition of “relocation” contained in subdivision (e) of Section 1400.5.

(1)“Call center” means a facility or other operation where employees, as their primary function, receive telephone calls or other electronic communication for the purpose of providing customer service or other related functions.

(2)“Call center employer” means an employer of a covered establishment, as those terms are defined in Section 1400.5, who operates a call center.

(3)“Relocation of a call center” includes when the employer intends to move its 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 average call volume for the previous 12 months, or substantially similar operations to a foreign country.

§ 1410

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 136. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.

(a)A call center employer shall not order a relocation of its call center, or one or more of its facilities or operating units within a call center, unless notice of the relocation is provided in accordance with Section 1401. If a call center employer is required to provide notice under subdivision (a) of Section 1401 and this section, the call center employer may provide a single notice. However, a notice of the relocation of a call center shall include “This notice is for the relocation of a call center” at the top of the notice.

(b)The Employment Development Department shall compile and publish semiannually, on its internet website, a list of call center employers operating a call center that provided notice pursuant to subdivision (a). This list shall include

elements required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2101 et seq.).

(c)The Employment Development Department and local workforce development boards shall provide workforce services to call center employers and their call center employees who are laid off as a result of the relocation of a call center, as defined in Section 1409.

§ 1410.5

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 752, Sec. 4. (AB 1601) Effective January 1, 2023.

(a)A violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1410 shall be enforced through the provisions and remedies contained in Article 1 (commencing with Section 1400), including, but not limited to, Sections 1402, 1403, 1404, 1406, and 1407.

(b)A call center employer that is found liable for failing to provide the notice required under this article shall not also be liable for violations for failing to provide notice under Section 1401 under the same facts.

§ 1411

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 752, Sec. 4. (AB 1601) Effective January 1, 2023.

(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), and notwithstanding any other law, a call center employer that appears on the list described in subdivision (b) of Section 1410, or who should have appeared on the list but did not provide notice as specified, shall be ineligible to be awarded or have renewed any direct or indirect state grants or state-guaranteed loans to that call center employer for five years after the date that the list is published, and that call center employer shall be ineligible to claim a tax credit for five taxable years beginning on and after the date that the list is published.

(b)The appropriate agency, after receiving a written request from a call center employer detailing the reasons for waiving the call center

employer’s ineligibility under subdivision (a), and after consulting the list described in subdivision (b) of Section 1410, may waive the ineligibility provisions prescribed in subdivision (a) if the agency determines that the applicant call center employer demonstrates good cause to do so, which may include job loss or adverse impact on the state.

(c)As used in this section, “appropriate agency” means the agency that administers the relevant direct or indirect state grants, state-guaranteed loans, or tax credits referenced in subdivision (a).

§ 1412

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 752, Sec. 4. (AB 1601) Effective January 1, 2023.

This article shall not be construed to permit 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 workers employed by call center employers that relocate to a foreign country.

§ 1413

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 752, Sec. 4. (AB 1601) Effective January 1, 2023.

The Labor Commissioner and the Employment Development Department may adopt rules and regulations as necessary and proper to effectuate the purposes of this article, in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.