Bill Text: NY S00792 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Removes the requirement that a state call center contractor must hire employees of a former call center contractor whose contract is terminated unless provided in the contract; makes provisions of new law applicable only to the state and its public authorities or public benefit corporations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2025-01-22 - referred to labor [S00792 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00792-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           792

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to protection of employees of
          call center contractors of the state; and to repeal certain provisions
          of the labor law relating thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Subdivision 3 of section 790 of the labor law, as added by
     2  a chapter of the laws  of  2024  amending  the  labor  law  relating  to
     3  preventing  the    displacement  of call center workers who provide call
     4  center services for the government in certain circumstances, as proposed
     5  in legislative bills numbers S. 6328-B and A. 8939-B, is amended to read
     6  as follows:
     7    3. The term "governmental body" means the state of New  York  [or  any
     8  political subdivision thereof,] and any public authority or public bene-
     9  fit corporation in the state of New York.
    10    §  2.  Sections 791 and 792 of the labor law, as added by a chapter of
    11  the laws of 2024 amending the  labor  law  relating  to  preventing  the
    12  displacement of call center workers who provide call center services for
    13  the  government  in  certain  circumstances,  as proposed in legislative
    14  bills numbers S. 6328-B and A. 8939-B, are amended to read as follows:
    15    § 791. Terminated call center contract.    1.  [No  less  than  thirty
    16  calendar  days  before]  Before termination of a call center contract in
    17  circumstances where a successor call center contractor will undertake to
    18  provide services that were the subject of the terminating contract,  the
    19  terminating  call  center contractor shall provide to the successor call
    20  center contractor, upon the request of a successor  contractor,  a  full
    21  and accurate list containing the name, address, date of hire and employ-
    22  ment  classification  of  each  call center employee whose work includes
    23  providing call center services that were the subject of the  terminating

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02725-01-5
        S. 792                              2

     1  contract.  [The  terminating call center contractor shall simultaneously
     2  post the list in a notice to the call center employees  that  also  sets
     3  forth  the  rights  provided  by this article. The posting shall be in a
     4  manner  or location reasonably calculated to be seen by affected employ-
     5  ees. The posting may be electronic, provided that if it  is  electronic,
     6  it  must  be directed to each affected employee individually and may not
     7  be a general posting on a website. Such notice shall also be provided to
     8  the employees' collective bargaining representative, if any.]
     9    2. Upon termination of a call service  contract  in  circumstances  in
    10  which  services  provided  under  that  contract  will be performed by a
    11  successor call center contractor, the successor call  center  contractor
    12  [shall]  may  retain  those  call  center  employees  who performed such
    13  services for the former call  center  contractor  immediately  prior  to
    14  termination  of  that contract.  It [shall] may be considered a material
    15  term of the call center contract that such employees shall  be  retained
    16  for a ninety-day transition employment period.
    17    3.  If  the  successor  call center contractor [is obligated to retain
    18  call center employees pursuant to subdivision two of this section,  but]
    19  determines  that fewer call center employees are required to perform the
    20  services that are the subject of the contract than had been required  to
    21  perform  such services by the former call center contractor, the succes-
    22  sor call center contractor [shall] may fill the positions that it deter-
    23  mines are needed with  the  call  center  employees  with  the  greatest
    24  seniority  within  job classification; provided, that during the ninety-
    25  day transition period, the successor call center contractor [shall]  may
    26  maintain  a  preferential hiring list of those call center employees not
    27  retained, and those on the preferential hiring list [shall] may be given
    28  a right of first refusal to any jobs within their  classifications  that
    29  become  available during that period.  [Upon determining which employees
    30  shall be retained for the ninety-day transition  period,  the  successor
    31  call  center  contractor  shall  provide a list of such employees to the
    32  contracting governmental body.]
    33    4. Except as provided in subdivision three of this section, during the
    34  ninety-day transition period, the successor call center contractor shall
    35  not discharge without cause a call center employee retained pursuant  to
    36  this article.
    37    5.  At the end of the ninety-day transition period, the successor call
    38  center contractor shall perform a [written] performance  evaluation  for
    39  each  call  center  employee  retained pursuant to this article. If such
    40  employee's performance during the ninety-day transition period is satis-
    41  factory, the successor call center contractor shall offer such  employee
    42  continued employment.
    43    6.  If the successor call center contractor engages a subcontractor or
    44  other entity to perform call center services provided for in a successor
    45  call center  contract,  that  successor  call  center  contractor  shall
    46  require  the subcontractor or other entity to adhere to all of the obli-
    47  gations of this article.
    48    § 792. Entering into a call center contract.   1. Whenever  a  govern-
    49  mental body shall undertake to procure call center services using a call
    50  center contractor, the governmental body [shall ensure] may require that
    51  the  call  center  contract  with such entity includes the [obligations]
    52  obligation pursuant to this article[, including, where  applicable,  the
    53  call  center contractor's obligation] to retain call center employees of
    54  the former call center contractor. [The obligation to retain the  termi-
    55  nating call center contractor's employees shall be considered a material
    56  term  of  the  call  center  contract  and  included  in the call center
        S. 792                              3

     1  contract irrespective of whether the terminating  call  center  contrac-
     2  tor's  contract  included the obligations pursuant to this article. Such
     3  obligations shall be set forth in requests for proposals or other solic-
     4  itations  and,  in  any  event,  shall  be  included in each call center
     5  contract. Whether or not the provisions are included in  such  contract,
     6  the  obligations  under  this  article shall apply to the successor call
     7  center contractor whenever  such  contractor  begins  performance  on  a
     8  successor  call  center  contract on or after the effective date of this
     9  article.]
    10    2. A governmental body intending to enter into a call  center  service
    11  contract,  in  circumstances in which such services had theretofore been
    12  performed by call center employees pursuant to a call  center  contract,
    13  [shall]  may  require  any entity seeking to enter into such contract to
    14  demonstrate that it will establish the worksite for its performance in a
    15  location which is reasonably accessible to the employees who  have  been
    16  performing such services prior to the solicitation of bids for a succes-
    17  sor  call center contract.  For the purposes of this section, a worksite
    18  shall be considered reasonably accessible if it is 10 miles or less from
    19  the location of the affected employees' worksite  where  such  employees
    20  performed  work-related duties in the course of their employment for the
    21  former call center contractor, provided  that  any  worksite  shall  not
    22  include an employee's domicile, permanent or temporary, where an employ-
    23  ee performs any work-related duty in the course of their employment. The
    24  requirements  of  this  subdivision  shall  not  apply to successor call
    25  center contractors that  intend  for  the  work-related  duties  of  the
    26  affected  call  center  employees previously employed by the former call
    27  center contractor to be performed remotely.
    28    § 3. Section 793 of the labor law, as added by a chapter of  the  laws
    29  of  2024  amending  the labor law relating to preventing displacement of
    30  call center workers who provide call center services for the  government
    31  in  certain  circumstances,  as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
    32  6328-B and A. 8939-B, is REPEALED, and section 794 of such law is renum-
    33  bered to be section 793.
    34    § 4. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    35  manner  as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the labor law relating
    36  to preventing the  displacement of call center workers who provide  call
    37  center services for the government in certain circumstances, as proposed
    38  in legislative bills numbers S. 6328-B and A. 8939-B, takes effect.