Doug, I can only speak in relation to NJ State and NYC where I'm licensed and work. Ultimately, the licensed electrician filing the job is 100% responsible to see the work meets or exceeds the appropriate code. When nobody files the work, then the property owner gets the bullet in the neck.
If a laborer moves some material such as pre-cut pieces of 500kcm across the floor by dragging it over steel studding debris, is the licensee off the hook if the insulation is damaged and goes unnoticed until after it's pulled through conduit? If a GC's carpenter who has nothing to do for a moment is told to open oversized fixture boxes to free up some storage space and decides to throw out some installation warning notices, is the licensee off the hook for not following manufacturer's instructions when a fixture falls? I have seen many disputes over these very such incidents. I don't mean to say that the licensee should don pinstripes and a referee's whistle to watch over his crew, but the law says supervision is required. Unfortunately, these definitions; "supervised", "directly supervised", etc., don't become truly definitive until they reach the courts.
I think we all have an understanding of what a "licensed electrician" is, but an "unlicensed eletrician" could be the greatest electrician to have ever walked the earth and a direct descendant of Thomas Edison, or he could be the ex-rodeo clown I hired this morning, eh? BTW, nothing against rodeo clowns, some of my best friends are...well you know.
As you may be able to tell by my opinion, I've completed 24 of those 34 CE hours. I think the manufacturing industries have been brought to their knees through outsourcing and we in the service industry are next. If the law is on our side we should promote it and not let it slip into gray areas where the cost cutters lurk.
Just my opinion,
Andy
[This message has been edited by cavo148 (edited 03-11-2004).]
