By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
Some jokes are always funny, some only funny once. Waiver requests are much the same. Adding specialty classes is a process that begins with one step at a time, despite a contractor’s desire to get it all done now! But first, what name do you display on your work or company vehicles? There is a ‘fine’ line between what is acceptable and what’s not…
Q: We have hundreds of work trucks throughout California and the business name on the trucks is a shortened version of our full business name. We were recently cited by the CSLB for not having our full business name on one of our trucks. We have no problem paying the fine, but without having to update our hundreds of trucks, how do we make sure this doesn’t happen in the future?
A: The business name that you have on your company vehicles is considered “advertising” so yes it must match the business name on your license. Since you don’t want to change all of your existing trucks, I would suggest adding the shortened version of your company name that you have on your trucks as a DBA on your license. That would require a name change form with the CSLB.
Q: Last year we had to replace our Responsible Managing Employee (RME) with one of our Officers. Because he had been with the company for so long as an Officer, the CSLB granted him a Waiver of the exams. He is going to be retiring soon so we need to put another person in the Responsible Managing Officer (RMO) spot. We plan to use another Officer who has been with the company for over 10 years, so that he too can request a waiver of the exams. Can you help us with this?
A: While we do assist with the process of replacing your Qualifier and Waiver requests, your new RMO will not be able to request a Waiver of the exams. Once your company is granted one for a particular Qualifying individual, you are required to wait five years before you can make that request again for a different individual.
Q: We need to add several specialty classifications to our license. We have an employee who has an Inactive Sole Owner license that holds the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC classifications that we need. How do we go about transferring those to our company license?
A: You will need to add the specialty classifications one at a time as the CSLB will only allow you to have one application in process at a time. Since your employee has an Inactive license holding these classifications, he/she will not have to re-test or show their experience background.
Q: We are a General Building contractor and we do restoration work. We sub-contract all asbestos abatement work to contractors who have the asbestos certification. We want to add the new “C-22” (Asbestos Abatement) classification to our license so we can start self-performing the work. What are the requirements for that?
A: Your “C-22” Qualifier will be required to show at least 4 years of experience doing asbestos abatement work, take and pass the trade exam (and law exam if they are not previously licensed), and your company will need to show proof of registration with DOSH. If you are not yet registered with DOSH, you will be required to provide the CSLB with proof of registration within 90 days of the “C-22” classification being added to your license. If you fail to provide the proof within 90 days, the classification will be removed from your license.
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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.