The California Department of Insurance recently released a statement regarding a program to check contractors for licensing, insurance and safety. Essentially, individual cars with employees from 4 different agencies (DOI, CSLB, EDD, OSHA) are checking job sites, including individual homeowners, to confirm that the contractors working there are licensed, have insurance, are filing their payroll taxes, and are conducting their work safely. On one day at the end of August, they issued over $136,000 in fines.
Bottom line(s):
- Homeowners should be aware they can be held responsible for any injuries that occur on their premises, even if the injured person is an employee of the contractor.
- Contractors that have been avoiding the expense of insurance might want to reconsider since it looks like “going without” is going to become much more expensive.
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2014/release051-14.cfm