Another electrical contractor is being investigated by private and state agencies for violations of state safety and quality regulations on a Sacramento-area construction project, including employment of untrained and uncertified electricians to perform electrical work on residential homes. After anonymous tips spurred similar investigations of national homebuilders K. Hovnanian Homes and KB Home earlier this year, the Construction Trades Compliance Program (CTCP) initiated an investigation of national builder D.R. Horton’s use of an electrical subcontractor that illegally employed unqualified electricians on California construction project.
At a job site in Roseville, Calif., Bay Area-based subcontractor Black Diamond Electric was found to be employing at least two unsupervised and uncertified electricians to perform electrical work on a residential construction project for D.R. Horton. CTCP Director Brian Peters says Black Diamond’s illegal activity is a prime example of the importance of pursuing contractors who violate the quality and safety regulations that are in place to keep consumers safe.
"Black Diamond had two so-called ‘electricians’ with no formal training, no state electrician certification, and no supervision installing wiring and connections in a home that some family will be living in a year from now, and this family will have no idea how potentially unsafe the electrical work is in their brand new house,” Peters says. “We cannot continue to let contractors get away with skirting these regulations and potentially putting consumers at risk.”
Last month, CTCP also helped initiate investigations into the practices of Republic Electric, a Sacramento-based electrical subcontractor found employing electricians who lacked proper certification at a KB Home construction site in Folsom, Calif. At a K. Hovnanian Homes’ job site in Rancho Cordova, Calif., investigators from CTCP discovered six uncertified electricians employed by Fresno, Calif.-based HDD Electric performing electrical work on the project.
In each instance, subcontractors were in direct violation of California Labor Code Section 3099.2, which stipulates anyone performing work as an electrician for C-10 electrical contractors shall hold an electrical certification card issued by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). DAS is required by the Labor Code to report violations to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). CTCP notified the appropriate state agencies and submitted reports to the CSLB. These national builders’ subcontractors are contributing to the thriving world of the underground and semi-underground construction economy in California.
