CSLB investigators are noting an uptick in the number of licensees who falsify experience when applying to add a trade classification to their license. State law requires four years of journey-level experience (some of which can be substituted by education) in the licensure classification that you are seeking to add.
Falsely stating your experience is legally viewed as omitting or misrepresenting material fact, in violation of Business and Professions Code section 7112 . An applicant-licensee who submits fraudulent information to CSLB or a licensee who provides false information about the applicant to CSLB risks license revocation.
CSLB and partners from the Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF) caught up to long-time illegal operator, Benito German Lopez Cruz, 47, of Orange, while conducting an enforcement operation targeting unlicensed, uninsured, and illegal cash payments in southern Orange County on February 16, 2012. CSLB was alerted to Lopez's illegal activity by law-abiding swimming pool and plastering contractors in Orange County who Lopez underbid by hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.
CSLB fined Lopez $4,500 for contracting without a license and failure to secure workers' compensation insurance for employees. The Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) issued a stop order prohibiting the use of employee labor until a workers' comp policy is obtained, and citations for $7,750 in fines for failure to carry workers' compensation and for paying employees in cash. During the enforcement operation, Lopez, who does business as Benito Lopez Trucking, was caught with three employees who were plastering a spa at a Dove Canyon home. Lopez also will be audited by the Employment Development Department (EDD).
At the time he was caught, Lopez was subcontracting for a contractor with an expired license. CSLB also issued a citation to the expired licensee for contracting on an expired license, filing a false exemption from workers' compensation insurance, and contracting with an unlicensed operator. DLSE issued the expired licensee a stop order for not having workers' compensation insurance for three employees at the construction site, and $8,500 in fines for failure to carry workers' comp and for cash payments.
Before you start construction, remember to verify that all necessary permits have been secured from the local building department. Even if your project contract states that the property owner is responsible for pulling construction permits, it's your responsibility as the contractor to make sure the permit is on file. Claiming that permits were the property owner's responsibility is not a viable defense in court; you will be in violation of performing work without a permit.