ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Is Your AHJ Doing His Job?

I've seen some internet content posted by home inspectors that has been quite critical of the electrical work performed in new homes. Then, today, I see a News Nation report that Texas builders warn that the current immigration enforcement activities are having a bad effect on building.
Are the builders openly admitting to using unqualified help?
If so . . . I wonder if the shoddy electrical work is being performed by unqualified people working for unlicensed contractors. If so, I have to ask: Where's the AHJ?
I mean, why should I bother keeping current with code when I'm only going to be pushed aside by phantoms - and the AHJ won't get any closer to the job than the local donut shop?

You lost me at "Home Inspector".

Most only had a faint familiarity with code compliance when I saw them.

Cute . Poking fun at an HI is no challenge at all. Sort of like laughing when a fish tries to ride a bicycle.
Yet the point remains: We've all seen horrible work routinely performed on even the most expensive new homes. We've been on sites where it's clear many of the workers have never seen a hammer before.
Old timers here will remember the days when I posted quite a few photos of shoddy work. What I never mentioned back then were the times when my taking pictures led to the immediate and complete evacuation of the site by ALL workers, who feared I was "La Migra." (Does ICE wear tool belts and arrive in a contractor truck?)
Searching the classifieds, it's no challenge finding job postings that read something like: "Contractor looking for licensed guy to put his name on the paperwork ONLY. Contractor will hire and run the job. License holder not welcome on site nor is his input wanted." These ads suggest that either there are sham contractors, or that bored bureaucrats are running entrapment operations. Twice in my career I have witnessed legitimate, established contractors suddenly have to replace their "qualifying employee."

I think it all gets back to money. Contractors hire the cheapest labor they can get away with and inspectors carry too much workload to look at everything. We are a cost conscious society and we will sacrifice some quality for a cheaper price.
When I was inspecting I got a little push back about the time I spent on the jobs but travel time was still much higher than actua inspection time most of the time. I just told them they paid for 2+ hours of travel, don't they want more than a 2 minute peek at the job?
At the time municipal inspectors were leaving the shop with 30 or 40 inspection cards every day. How much could they be looking at?
I worked for the state with a much smaller workload but it spanned 6 counties.