A corporate entity learns that ‘one for all, all for one’ may not be good license policy! We present a quality answer for a ‘qualifier’ question. Unfortunately, even ‘sprinkles’ won’t sweeten the answer we have to serve for a General’s question…
Q: We have a corporate license in California and the only person listed on the license is our RMO (Responsible Managing Officer). He is our former CEO/President and he is technically still with the company but due to some internal disagreements he will soon be leaving. We have changed the name of the company and also changed the Officers on file with the Secretary of State. We failed to notify the CSLB of these changes as they are fairly recent, however our license is up for renewal at the end of next month. The renewal requires the signature of our RMO on record, and because things have gone sour, he is refusing to sign. He is also refusing to sign our name change request. What can be done about this and what kind of exposure does this put us under?
A: Sorry to hear that there have been disagreements within your company, that is always a difficult thing to deal with in business. You will want to file a Disassociation in order to remove him from the license, and at the same time file applications to update the new Officers. Once the new Officers are added to the license, any of those individuals may sign the renewal and have signing authority to make changes to the license such as the name change. When your current RMO is disassociated from the license, you have 90 days in which to replace him.
With regards to risk/exposure, any time you only have one individual listed on a license you need to be careful because that is the only person that has the authority to make changes to a license. Worst case scenario, they can cancel the license!
Q: I have an “A” (General Engineering) license and a friend of mine recently purchased a home and asked if I can install a fire sprinkler system in his home. Am I permitted to do this with my “A” license?
A: No, installing a fire sprinkler system in a residential home does not require any specialized engineering work in connection to a fixed works project, so your “A” license would not be appropriate. A “C-16” (Fire Protection) contractor would need to install the system. A “C-36” (Plumbing) contractor may also install residential fire sprinkler systems up until January 1, 2017 when that will no longer be applicable. There is potential to add a specialty class for these trades if your experience qualifies and you take the exam. Contact us with any further questions or assistance.
Q: If I were to register a new entity and seek a contractor license for it, would the Qualifying Individual need to submit some sort of verification such as “W-9’s” or operating agreements showing them to be an employee or Officer of a company? I’m wondering if our employees who qualify for a “B” license would be able to qualify for a subsidiary of ours if that company does not technically employ them.
A: While the CSLB does require verification of employment upon application submittal, your RMO/RME is required to be a bona-fide Officer/employee of the entity for which he/she Qualifies.