Some contractors are illegally using a license number registered to someone else. This common practice is difficult to check.
When caught they can claim to be an agent or foremen of the license holder, and the only way to check is by tracking down the actual contact for the license holder on record, and ask if the stories match.
The license holder can be a prior prison-cell mate, or other licensed contractor generating revenue from renting his license number. There’s little risk vouching for an unqualified felon that rents a license, if naive property owners can’t prove otherwise. And, if disaster strikes no valid claim exists against license-holder’s bond, lacking legal employee or “Salesman” relationships. This kind of license fraud is a Tort in civil court, with no powers to subpoena or arrest.
Contracting has always been the number one trade of recovering ex cons & revolving felons. It’s the next logical step from income generating crime, and tax free, cash exchange. At any given time, there should be plenty of license holders in need of extra cash; more than willing to rent out their license number to thugs on the street.
For this reason, Commercial property developers have learned to demand multi-million dollar liability policies, and check for claims records, accident history, & corporate name changes.
The goal is to eliminate Management using similar techniques to rotate license-holding RMO’s (Responsible managing operators). Previous RMO’s may have been suspended for burning down the building. Revolving licenses show no record of occupational hazards levied against owners, because accidents go away with the last license holder.
Commercial projects should go to builders paying the lowest GL insurace premiums, with a long history of the same license numbers avoiding accidents and enforcing OSHA mandated Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO), and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Unfortunately, there is plenty of naive owners awarding contracts to these poorly qualified license grinders. Plenty of my paychecks came from these corporate-scum operators until mismanagement exausted their funding.