COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Senator Sherrod Brown is sponsoring a bill that would make it harder for companies to outsource call center jobs overseas.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. lost 200,000 call center jobs between 2006 and 2014.
“Most Americans want to support American jobs by buying American whenever they can and that includes the customer service they get from call centers,” said Brown.
According to a press release, Brown’s bill, the U.S. Call Center Workers and Consumer Protection Act, would:
- Give preference in federal contracts to companies that haven’t relocated call center jobs overseas.
- Require U.S. companies to identify the location of the call center and allow the customer to be transferred to a call center located in the U.S. if asked.
- Require companies to notify the Department of Labor (DOL) before they relocate call centers and create a public list of companies that outsource call center jobs.
The list of companies that offshore call center jobs would be maintained by DOL and be available for public reference. Any companies on the list would be ineligible for federal grants or loans, with an exception for national security or substantial job loss in the U.S. Federal agencies would also be required to give preference to U.S. employers that do not appear on the list.