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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 349
2025-2026
Representatives McNally, Kishman
Cosponsors: Representatives Brennan,
Johnson, Rogers, Sweeney
A
BILL
To
enact sections 4113.87, 4113.88, 4113.89, 4113.90, 4113.91, and
4113.92 of the Revised Code to
enact
the Consumer Protection Call Center Act regarding the eligibility of
employers that relocate a call center to a foreign country to receive
state grants, loans, and other benefits.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 4113.87, 4113.88, 4113.89, 4113.90, 4113.91, and 4113.92 of
the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
4113.87.
As
used in sections 4113.87 to 4113.92 of the Revised Code:
(A)
"Employer" means a business that employs, for the purpose
of customer service or back-office operations, fifty or more
individuals, excluding part-time employees.
(B)
"State agency" means every organized body, office, or
agency established by the laws of the state for the exercise of any
function of state government. "State agency" does not
include the general assembly, any legislative agency, a court, or any
judicial agency.
(C)
"Part-time employee" means an individual employed by an
employer for an average of fewer than twenty hours each week or for
fewer than six of the twelve months before the date on which a
determination is made.
Sec.
4113.88.
(A)
An employer that intends to relocate either of the following from
this state to a foreign country shall notify the director of job and
family services at least one hundred twenty days before that
relocation:
(1)
A call center;
(2)
One or more facilities or operating units within a call center
comprising at least thirty per cent of the call center's total volume
when measured against the previous twelve- month average call volume
of operations.
(B)
No employer shall fail to provide the notice required under division
(A) of this section. If an employer fails to provide that notice, the
director shall inform the attorney general. The attorney general
shall commence an action for a civil penalty against that employer in
the court of common pleas of a county in which the employer's
business is located.
On
a finding that an employer has violated this division, the court
shall assess a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars
against the employer for each day the employer failed to provide the
notice.
(C)
A court may reduce a civil penalty imposed under division (B) of this
section if the court determines that an employer has shown just cause
why a notification under division (A) of this section was not made in
the time required.
Sec.
4113.89.
(A)
Beginning six months after the effective date of this section, and
every six months thereafter, the director of job and family services
shall compile a list of every employer that has relocated either of
the following from this state to a foreign country during the
preceding six months:
(1)
A call center;
(2)
One or more facilities or operating units within a call center
comprising at least thirty per cent of the call center's total
volume.
(B)
The director of job and family services shall include on the list the
name of the employer and the date on which the call center or
facility was relocated. The director of job and family services shall
submit that list to the director of development.
(C)
The director of development shall distribute the list created in this
section to every state agency.
Sec.
4113.90.
(A)
Except as provided in division (B) of this section and
notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code to the
contrary, an employer that appears on a list created under section
4113.89 of the Revised Code is ineligible to receive from a state
agency any grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, or other economic
incentive until five years after the date on which the employer
relocated a call center or one or more facilities or operating units
within a call center comprising at least thirty per cent of the call
center's total volume. If an employer appears on that list, the
director of development shall charge the employer for the unamortized
value of any grant, guaranteed loan, tax benefit, or other economic
incentive that the employer has received from a state agency on or
after the effective date of this section. The employer shall remit
that amount to the department of development.
(B)
The department of development, in consultation with the state agency
providing a loan or grant, may waive the disqualification and payment
specified in division (A) of this section if the employer applying
for the loan or grant demonstrates that one of the following will
happen if the loan or grant is not provided:
(1)
Substantial job loss in the state;
(2)
Harm to the environment;
(3)
A significant economic impact to the state.
Sec.
4113.91.
Each
state agency shall ensure that all call center and customer service
work performed for the agency is performed entirely within the state.
No
contractor who performs call center or customer service work for the
state shall hire an individual to perform that work at a location
outside of the state.
Beginning
two years after the effective date of this section, every individual
employed by a contractor to perform call center or customer service
work for the state shall perform that work within the state.
Sec.
4113.92.
Sections
4113.87 to 4113.92 of the Revised Code do not permit withholding or
denial of payments, compensation, or benefits under Chapter 4121.,
4123., 4127., 4131., 4141., or 6301. of the Revised Code or under any
other state law to employees employed by employers that relocate to a
foreign country.
Section
2.
Section
4113.91 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, applies to
contracts entered into on or after the effective date of this
section.
Section
3.
This
act shall be referred to as the Consumer Protection Call Center Act.