The failure of CA JW certification (CLC Newsletter, Fall 2010), is a case where the
"desire" of law is vastly different from compliance
"defacto". Exploited laborers have dominated jobsites with superior motivation to avoid government authority, perhaps notoriously corrupt in their country of origin.
As the eyes and ears of
State Wide Investigative Fraud Teams (SWIFT), licensed competitors have leveled the playing field with a can’t-beet-them-join-them approach. In 2016 the CA Contractors State License Board (CSLB) reported over 50% of all licensees declare themselves exempt from worker compensation (WC), for work not practical without employees. To deal with the industry wide failure of Workmans Comp. (WC) compliance, CA now grants CSLB representatives the authority to issue citations, without a peace officer, or district attorney. Presumably during SWIFT sting operations. (CLC Newsletter, Winter 2015-16)
Some licensed contractors have responded by structuring their help as partners or corporate officers, so labor regulations, payroll deductions, and perhaps consumer protections, become the burden of governments with limited tax-auditing, or enforcement resources. Labor exploit prevails thru history, and licenses may be learning to leverage corporate entities, leveling that playing field against the underground economy.
