Bill would require notice before offshoring call centers, bar state grants to offshorers and keep state contracts domestic

The Labor & Workplace Standards Committee heard testimony March 19 on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5459, which would impose notice requirements and funding penalties on call center employers that relocate operations from Washington to a foreign country and require state contracts for call-center services to be performed entirely within the United States.

Ben McCarthy, staff to the committee, outlined the bill's three core provisions: a requirement that covered call-center employers provide the state 120 days' notice before relocating operations to a foreign country; ineligibility for state grants or loans for five years for employers who have relocated operations to a foreign country (with a narrow waiver available if denial would cause substantial job loss in Washington or environmental harm); and a requirement that call-center services contracted for by state agencies be performed entirely within the United States (excluding interpreter services). The bill applies to call-center operators with 50 or more employees or to employers with 50 or more employees who work an aggregate of 1,500 hours per week (excluding overtime). The bill creates a civil penalty up to $10,000 per day for failure to provide the required notice, subject to commissioner discretion in declared emergencies.

Union and worker witnesses urged committee members to pass the bill. Christine Reid of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 77 said SB 5459 is "crucial in ensuring that our hardworking community members are not left vulnerable and blindsided by job relocations." Eileen Nicks, a call-center employee at Lumen and a member of Communications Workers of America Local 7800, testified that call-center jobs in Washington provide family-supporting wages and that companies often move work to lower-wage countries. Crystal Rivas of CWA Local 37083 said recent closings by Wells Fargo, Concentrix and Windstream showed how closures move jobs to countries with weaker labor standards and worse service for customers.

Committee members asked technical questions about scope. Representative Schmidt confirmed the bill's protections apply only when operations move outside the United States and not to moves within the U.S. The committee took no final action at the hearing.