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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 18
P
pforte Offline OP
Member
Hi,
I would like to get some feedback from other parts of the country on this matter. For years this has been a pet peeve of mine. In our area if you see a non qualified unlicensed person doing electrical work there is no one to report it to. I have joined several electric leagues over the years but even thopugh they try to police it they really have no legal backing.
It burns me up that I have to pay a fortune in licensing and insurance and permit fees and so on and none of this money goes towards any kind of body to police our industry.
Just wondering if there are any good working systems out there?


Wiring is no hobby
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 141
E
Member
Qualified licensed electricians who charge a customer $500 for a half hour's work create the market for other types. Get used to it Bud.

Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,056
R
Member
pforte,

In PA it is fact of life that unqualified and/or inexpreienced and/or untrained people will compete against you. This is due to the lack of a statewide licensing requirement.
Some local municipalities require an exam, but these are few and far between. Most locals require a $100.00 fee and proof of liability insurance (which until recently was easily available to anyone).
I live in a township in which most of the new homes sell for over $700,000 and they don't require an electrical license at all !!??

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
S
Member
Quote
electric leagues

gee, and i naively thought the IAEI or maybe NFPA might catagorically qualify.... ?

~S~

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,044
Tom Offline
Member
Here in the Mountain State, when I do an inspection, if I discover that the work was done for a fee & the installer does not have an electricians license, I'm legally required to report that person to the State Fire Marshal.

Funny thing, the assistant state fire marshals can carry a gun, got a badge & probably have numerous laws on the books to protect them from irate citizens.

I've no badge, those special laws don't apply to me, no one has been around to issue me a sidearm. If anyone thinks I'm going to risk my health or life by turning in some potential nut case, they're mistaken. After all, the State only wants the licensing fee ($50).


Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,392
S
Member
pforte

while waiting for an inspectior
(we actually can get them on commercial jobs) i circled a 3x4 handyman ad in the paper i had been reading.

it stated that mr. handyman did 'all aspects' of plumbing and electrical work
(among other 'skills')

in handing it to the inspector, he laughed, and said there was nothing he could do about it...

even the fines (imposed on a commercial job to the unlicensed) here justify the crime

~S~

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 18
P
pforte Offline OP
Member
Well it would seem so far the problem is not just here. Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that there are stiffer fines for me getting my license renewal in on time ($350.00 last year for one day late) then there are for an unlicensed contractor performing a paid service for a homeowner that could potentially cause loss of life?


Wiring is no hobby
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,429
L
LK Offline
Member
Here in New Jersey, I left the job site to pick-up supplies, and when i returned the Police were ready to cuff and arrest my guys, because someone called and said that 2 guys were doing electrical work at the house and he din't see a truck. This happened three times in the past year. So your answer in New Jersey is to call the police. They told me it use to be a minor charge and now they can make it a criminal charge.

Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,233
H
Member
As LK said, here in NJ it is now a fourth degree crimminal offense to do electrical work if you are not a licensed electrical contractor. However if you read the letter of the law, I believe it said something like, " Pass your self off as a licensed electrical contractor." Or something like, "To anyway give the homeowner the impression that you are a lic. elec. cont." Now the loop hole IMHO would not try to tell homeowners that you are in anyway a lic. cont. and maybe you can get out of trouble that way. I have the law somewhere in my office, and I won't be going back there till Mon. but if anyone wants it, I will try to find it and post it.

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 642
N
Member
This is from the Nebraska state electrical act.

81 2108. Wiring or installing; license required; exceptions; lending license prohibited.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section or in section 81 2110 or 81 2112, no person shall, for another, wire for or install electrical wiring, apparatus, or equipment unless he or she is licensed by the board as an electrical contractor, a Class B electrical contractor, a Class A master electrician, a Class B master electrician, or a fire alarm installer.

(2) Except as provided in section 81 2106, 81 2110, or 81 2112, no person shall wire for or install electrical wiring, apparatus, or equipment or supervise an apprentice electrician unless such person is licensed as a Class B journeyman electrician, a journeyman electrician, or a fire alarm installer and is employed by a Class A electrical contractor, a Class B electrical contractor, an electrical contractor, a Class A master electrician, a Class B master electrician, or a fire alarm installer. For purposes of this section, the holder of a fire alarm installer license shall only supervise those apprentices engaged in the installation of fire alarm equipment and apparatus operating at fifty volts or less.

No person licensed under the State Electrical Act may lend his or her license to any person or knowingly permit the use of such license by another.

81 2143. Violations, enumerated; penalties.

It shall be a Class I misdemeanor knowingly and willfully to commit or to order, instruct, or direct another to commit any of the following acts:

(1) To make a false statement in any license application, request for inspection, certificate, or other lawfully authorized or required form or statement provided by the State Electrical Act;

(2) To perform electrical work for another without a proper license for such work;

(3) To fail to file a request for inspection when required;

(4) To interfere with or refuse entry to an inspector lawfully engaged in the performance of his or her duties; or

(5) To fail or neglect to comply with the act or any lawful rule, regulation, or order of the board.


A class I misdemeanor in Nebraska is punishable by up to a $1000.00 fine or up to 1 year in jail or both.

We have the law on the books, now if the AHJ's, police, and distric attourney's will enforce it maybe some of these fly by niters will disappear.
i am not holding my breath waiting.


ed
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