Consequences of doing electrical work without a license

R

reyamkram

Senior Member
Location
Hanover park, il
Throughout the years this is what I've Been Told I don't know if it's true or not if the municipality adopted the NEC then it's mandatory for manufacture the follow-up and if an unlicensed person does do electrical work and something happens it could be criminal charges and can the management be held accountable if something happens can they be held accountable for criminal charges and if you don't use listed or label products and something happens the insurance company to refuse to pay thank you for any and all information this is an Elgin Illinois
 
on same note and with punctuation. I am curious about what the legal ramifications are for licensed sparkies who do side work and there is a fire years after, even if not electrical sourced.

As an apprentice, my journeyman warned me that if the insurance or fireman find that sparkies did side work on site, they auto blame it on that side work. Then we lose our state license and open to civil liability.

And another question, if the work done is unpaid, are we still held liable if there are issues?

i suppose it may depend on the state you are in.
 
As an apprentice, my journeyman warned me that if the insurance or fireman find that sparkies did side work on site, they auto blame it on that side work. Then we lose our state license and open to civil liability.
They auto blame it| thats interesting.
 
You are always open to liability. If you drive without a lic you are guilty of driving without one. If someone runs a light in to you,,, they are at fault, you are still guilty of driving without lic. If you have a lic and run in to someone you are still guilty, you have insurance to offsdet the liability. If you are criminally negligent then you will probably face civil.
A licensed guy putting in flying splice is sposed to be "more negiligent",,, he has a licsense and training and is spoased to know better, now its not simple human error, he did it and knows better.
 
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Sberry said:
As an apprentice, my journeyman warned me that if the insurance or fireman find that sparkies did side work on site, they auto blame it on that side work. Then we lose our state license and open to civil liability.
They auto blame it| thats interesting.
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probably more about the old timer trying to save young buck from stupidity, whether right or wrong. They must have seen something in their years of work.
 
Not all electrical work requires a license. If the work is done incorrectly and someone is hurt or there is a fire then the person who did the work would likely be liable. That would apply to both licensed and unlicensed persons.

Here in NJ a licensed person would have liability insurance so there is a layer of protection when being sued. Also if the licensed company is a corporation then there are limits to personal liability. If you're unlicensed and doing side work just make 100% sure that the job is code compliant.
 
A license is inviting a 3rd party to the work. You cant sue for unpaid work if you dont have it. It brings the state in and put the work in its jurisdiction so to speak. Says you have the right to contract and that you will follow the laws and the codes. The insurance is a contract, everyone agrees to hold them liable vs you provided you are not criminal.
 
reyamkram said:
if something happens can they be held accountable for criminal charges
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Criminal prosecution is less lucrative than damage awards.

Accident attorney’s leverage illegal traffic infractions to collect the lucrative punitive “damages,” well beyond the value of actual loss.

Illegal activity in other industries trigger un-insurable increased hazard, cancellation and non-renewal, which may confiscate the lifetime of premiums, without paying casualty claims.

Ignorance is bliss, until the mirror is turned, which showed your illegal activity coming.
 
I would look at your state's electrical permitting and licensing requirements for electrical work. I know here in Washington the level of electrical work to be done by non-licensed persons is very limited, and the work that can be done by an unlicensed person with an electrical work permit exemption are even fewer (like-in-kind replacement of single breaker, control devices, single set of fuses, etc.). The penalties will also vary state-by-state.
 
infinity said:
If the work is done incorrectly and someone is hurt or there is a fire then the person who did the work would likely be liable. That would apply to both licensed and unlicensed persons.
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This. But also you are not likely going to be able to get liability insurance without a license, so you are in essence, flying solo. If you mess up, it could cost you everything.
 
DBill64 said:
I know here in Washington the level of electrical work to be done by non-licensed persons is very limited, and the work that can be done by an unlicensed person with an electrical work permit exemption are even fewer (like-in-kind replacement of single breaker, control devices, single set of fuses, etc.). The penalties will also vary state-by-state.
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Here in California, a C-10 license is required for contracting on any electrical work valued at $500 or more, and all employees of a C-10 licensed contractor must be state certified under one of 5 different categories. A “handyman” is limited to $1000, but their electrical portion is technically still limited to that $500 value. Is it violated every day? You betcha, but if something goes awry, that’s when the rubber hits the road. Aside from the liability issues, the penalties for getting caught are often greater than the value of the project.
 
Jraef said:
A “handyman” is limited to $1000, but their electrical portion is technically still limited to that $500 value.
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The $500 minor-work exception in B&P 7048 was changed to $1000 last year, but advertising, helpers, or permits, now void this exception.

Since all new electrical work requires permits, the electrical handyman / minor-work exception is now gone, except for unincorporated areas.

B&P 7044 always exempted owner-builder payrolls from licensing, just as other laws exempt maintenance facilities, and General Contractor labor.

CA licenses are required to provide consumers a contract for any work =>$500, but B&P 7090 wont prosecute Permit violations <$500 T&M

It's just as illegal for handyman electrical <=$1000 without permits, as licenses doing => $500 without a contract.
 
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Years ago my boss was working on a partially gutted row home alone, it was the home of friend of his wife and he was just doing a favor for this person, there were some old circuits and some new and he was tracing out and testing, like any small job or 'side job' can be, he had a jbox open in the attic, and like most attics there was lots of stuff like old papers.
He reset a 20A breaker in the basement and some sparks must have fell out of a attic jbox he had opened and started a fire, He said by the time he went up to the 3rd floor he herd the crackling sound and a woosh sound. He tried to put it out, but nobody else was home and the attic quickly filled with smoke, he ended up in the hospital for smoke inhalation. Some pets perished in the fire, but nobody else got hurt, the FD damaged the neighboring houses roof. The damages were $$$, it was a catastrophic incident from something as simple as energizing a 20A breaker working late alone. He of course is fully insured and the homeowners insurance sued his insurance and his insurance settled they way that they do.
He did not have to pay one dollar. He had such a long track record of no claims (probably 30 years) his insurance barely went up.
After I saw that I never did a side job again.
I made an arrangement to run friends and family small jobs thru the company, so god forbid if anything like that happens I am covered.
 
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