Potential employer wants to use my contractor license

Mr. Serious

Mr. Serious

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma, USA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I know this has been discussed here before, but I don't know what search terms to use and I'm not finding anything.

I'm closing down my business for multiple reasons, one of which is I want to move somewhere else within the next year or two, but in meantime I would like to get another job. I stopped taking new jobs months ago, except for very small ones, but I am not taking even small ones now. My remaining jobs are very few and not keeping me busy anymore.

At a couple of the places I'm applying for jobs, they would like to use my contractor license to be able to pull permits and/or expand their business into areas that require an electrical contractor license. I'm wondering how to go about this legally, and what sorts of things I would want to incorporate into a contract allowing them to do that.

Some important ones I can think of are:
  1. Make sure I retain the right to work on every job I pull permits on to make sure it's done right.
  2. Ask for enough compensation to cover my costs for maintaining my active license.
  3. Perhaps ask them to pay some sort of retention bonus, that I would pay back in full or in part if I end up moving away or leaving their employment.
 
The legal details are a matter of state law so call your state (or in some states, local?) licensing department or look on your website. In my state an employee can provide a license for a company. (Been there, done that.) You could possibly also be a shareholder or officer of the company but it doesn't sound like you're interested in that.

Is it a good idea? Your list is a good start. Yes, I would expect extra compensation, to be in a supervisory role, and I would make it clear that installations would be done your way when the work involves your trade. Maybe tell them you'd like to work for them for 90 days and see how it goes before the license part of the deal would start? You want to be sure it's a well-run company. Be aware that lawsuits from clients, OSHA violations, etc. may incur to you professionally. (The company or their insurance company should defend you from personally financial liability in most cases, but the stakes are still higher than for other employees.) Be cognizant of notifying the licensing authority right away if/when you ever depart from the company; you wouldn't want them to continue using your license when you no longer supervise their work.
 
I would definitely ask to review their insurance coverage and expect to be part of that decision making process if/when the carrier or policy changes.
 
Mr. Serious said:
don't know what search terms to use and I'm not finding anything.
Click to expand...
Try these search terms:
managing officer
license officer

Forum responses regarding RMO's are never conclusive, because the public fail to realize that shifting liability to individuals, or being the beneficiary of their dead peasants insurance, is an acceptable business practice, designed for Corporate charters.

Trade licensed individuals should know from experience, if not by definition, that to survive business must exploit gaps in regulatory environments, and business bears the burden to prove their RMO trap isn't rigged to shift liability away from management, to responsible managing officers..
 
Mr. Serious said:
I know this has been discussed here before, but I don't know what search terms to use and I'm not finding anything.

I'm closing down my business for multiple reasons, one of which is I want to move somewhere else within the next year or two, but in meantime I would like to get another job. I stopped taking new jobs months ago, except for very small ones, but I am not taking even small ones now. My remaining jobs are very few and not keeping me busy anymore.

At a couple of the places I'm applying for jobs, they would like to use my contractor license to be able to pull permits and/or expand their business into areas that require an electrical contractor license. I'm wondering how to go about this legally, and what sorts of things I would want to incorporate into a contract allowing them to do that.

Some important ones I can think of are:
  1. Make sure I retain the right to work on every job I pull permits on to make sure it's done right.
  2. Ask for enough compensation to cover my costs for maintaining my active license.
  3. Perhaps ask them to pay some sort of retention bonus, that I would pay back in full or in part if I end up moving away or leaving their employment.
Click to expand...

Section 158:40-5-3 - Contractor requirements, Okla. Admin. Code § 158:40-5-3 | Casetext Search + Citator

Read Section 158:40-5-3 - Contractor requirements, Okla. Admin. Code § 158:40-5-3, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext’s comprehensive legal database
casetext.com
 
Doc13067 said:
I personally think that the potential to untangle from something like this would be such a headache it wouldn’t even be worth asking about.
Click to expand...
Then don't sign a contract that entangles you. Inform the licensing agency as soon as you leave. It's basically just some paperwork every year or two. Whether it's worth it depends on how long he wants to stay in the job.

Honestly, the negativity in this thread strikes me as uninformed. The man owned and operated his own business. Being a responsible managing employee for someone else involves about the same risk professionally and less financially, at least given similar company size and work. Now if he never employeed anyone but himself before, or if the new employer is much larger than his company ever was, then this might be ill-advised. But if he managed employees and supervised crews on a similar scale then it's essentially nothing he hasn't already taken on before.
 
If they're not doing electrical now, there's no indication they can start doing it successfully just by getting a license holder. For sure they're using someone else, usually a regular EC, and you know how competitive EC business is, so any type of fluffing, my other guy is x, y, z, holds no water.

He can get any x, y, z he is willing to pay for.

There's always the scenario you're standing in front of the judge with your boss who has no license. The boss is going to say 'I don't know anything about electrical, that's why I hired a licensed guy'. The judge will let him go and you will be the only one left standing there. Point is you cannot count on your counterparties to do their part, especially when it comes to electrical if they're not electricians. When people have approached me with something like this, they were people who were already pretty shady.

As an employee my license covers only the work that I do. The rest of it is a nightmare scenario.

Being responsible to the town for permit requirements I do not see as a big deal, not a problem. Being responsible to the State and the legal system for all the other business responsibility stuff, including being the fall guy for when everyone else just wants to point the finger elsewhere, that's more than a one man job. You would need your own dedicated staff for that
 
It seems to me this guy wants to leave town. When his chance to leave comes, is he going to be able to just up and leave? I can't imagine anybody legit hiring someone on the basis that he can up and leave on two weeks notice from such a position. It would certainly make the company kind of sketchy looking if they agreed to such a thing.
 
Thanks, appreciate all the comments, especially the Oklahoma admin. code. I know I've read that before, but it was a while ago and it helps to read it again. I'm still trying to work things out. The one company I was most interested in sort of ghosted me, so I'll follow up once and see if they're still interested.
 
I'm facing a similar issue. Compensation wise what did you ask for if you don't mind me asking as I'm trying to figure out if my employer is trying to lowball me.









Mr. Serious said:
I know this has been discussed here before, but I don't know what search terms to use and I'm not finding anything.

I'm closing down my business for multiple reasons, one of which is I want to move somewhere else within the next year or two, but in meantime I would like to get another job. I stopped taking new jobs months ago, except for very small ones, but I am not taking even small ones now. My remaining jobs are very few and not keeping me busy anymore.

At a couple of the places I'm applying for jobs, they would like to use my contractor license to be able to pull permits and/or expand their business into areas that require an electrical contractor license. I'm wondering how to go about this legally, and what sorts of things I would want to incorporate into a contract allowing them to do that.

Some important ones I can think of are:
  1. Make sure I retain the right to work on every job I pull permits on to make sure it's done right.
  2. Ask for enough compensation to cover my costs for maintaining my active license.
  3. Perhaps ask them to pay some sort of retention bonus, that I would pay back in full or in part if I end up moving away or leaving their employment.
Click to expand...
 
Mr. Serious said:
I know this has been discussed here before, but I don't know what search terms to use and I'm not finding anything.

I'm closing down my business for multiple reasons, one of which is I want to move somewhere else within the next year or two, but in meantime I would like to get another job. I stopped taking new jobs months ago, except for very small ones, but I am not taking even small ones now. My remaining jobs are very few and not keeping me busy anymore.

At a couple of the places I'm applying for jobs, they would like to use my contractor license to be able to pull permits and/or expand their business into areas that require an electrical contractor license. I'm wondering how to go about this legally, and what sorts of things I would want to incorporate into a contract allowing them to do that.

Some important ones I can think of are:
  1. Make sure I retain the right to work on every job I pull permits on to make sure it's done right.
  2. Ask for enough compensation to cover my costs for maintaining my active license.
  3. Perhaps ask them to pay some sort of retention bonus, that I would pay back in full or in part if I end up moving away or leaving their employment.
Click to expand...
I have been approached numerous times where a contractor wanted me to pull permits for them doing all of the work. Best was when my best customer begged me to pull a permit for a friend that got caught after all the work was completed including sheetrock. As a favor before I went out for a free look I know it looks like hell but over told him that I would never pull a permit for others.Just my feeling is that people that pull permits for others to make a buck are no better then a prostitute. Anyway the contractor got some fool to pull a permit and a month after opening they had an electrical fire and never reopened. At the large hospital that I retired from the electricians were required to have an electrical license. They provided several million dollar worth of insurance but refused to pay the 8 yearly IAEI meetings that provided CEU'S. When the cheap facilities director told us that he wanted us to pull permits on small jobs I refused. That was never brought up during the hiring process. Would laugh at corner cutting contractors while at electric supply houses asking me to pull a few permits. Always told me they would pay me cash. Told them I might consider it if they paid me my weight in gold. With life time liability laws please do a lot of thinking and like another post stated contact a lawyer to warn you of the serious pit falls that could occur.
 
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