By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
Cash ‘under the table’ won’t be a benefit for anyone working in that scenario, whether you are the ‘employee’ or the contractor breaking the law. While most questions have a yes or no, in some cases the answer I give you depends on whether you are ‘domestic’ or ‘foreign’…
Q: I worked for a licensed contractor for over five years under the table. I hate to admit that we had this agreement for him to avoid paying Worker’s Compensation. I recently applied to get my own General Building license. The contractor I worked for would not sign off on my work experience in fear of getting in trouble for his poor business practices. The CSLB is requesting W2’s, check stubs, contracts, etc. Obviously I cannot provide W-2’s or paycheck stubs and I don’t have access to contracts and permits. Is there anything I can do?
A: When you apply to obtain a license for a “critical classification”, which includes the General Building classification, and you do not have verifiable experience the CSLB will request further documentation such as the items you stated. If you cannot provide evidence of your experience there is nothing else you can do but withdraw your application and re-apply at a later date when you have proof of work experience.
There was a time when that was different and a signature of anyone who had knowledge of your experience was all you needed to get licensed. Those days are gone and the CSLB has been much more diligent about verifying work experience for applicants applying for a critical classification.
Q: How do I change the Officers on my license? Can I just do it at the Board level or do I need to it at the State level through the Secretary of State?
A: It depends. Generally you want the personnel you have listed with the Secretary of State and the CSLB to match. However that’s not always the case. The Secretary of State requires that you list President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Many companies have one or many Vice Presidents listed on the contractor’s license without being listed with the Secretary of State, which is permissible. As another example, the CSLB only requires foreign corporations to list their President. So many companies only have a President listed on the license but they have a Secretary and a Treasurer listed with the Secretary of State.
So to better answer your question I would need to know first whether you are a domestic or foreign corporation, and second, which Officer(s) changed.
Regardless, if you have an Officer that is no longer with the company you will definitely want to make both agencies aware. This can be done at the CSLB level with a Disassociation Notice, and at the Secretary of State level with a Statement of Information. Any time you are disassociating someone from the CSLB you need be sure that you have a current Officer always on record for signing authority on the license.
While knowledge is power, knowing where to go for the answers is half the battle. Get expert assistance immediately when you call 866-443-0657, email info@cutredtape.com, or write us at Capitol Services, Inc., 1225 8th St. Ste. 500, Sacramento, CA 95814. Research past columns at www.cutredtape.com.
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