Unlicensed Operators

Are you a landscape contractor who has lost jobs to unlicensed operators, contractors who operate outside of their license classification or competitors who do not pay workers' compensation insurance, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, or federal and state employment taxes?

If you are a victim of these illegal activities, CLCA has some good news for you: The Contractors State License Board has vastly expanded its enforcement activities during the past five years. Its Statewide Investigation Fraud Team (SWIFT) has nearly twice as many workers as it did five years ago when it operated as the Unlicensed Activity Unit. In 1998 the CSLB cited approximately 1,700 unlicensed operators and referred another 1,000 to local prosecutors for criminal prosecution. As a result of the CSLB's increasingly pro-active enforcement, complaints from consumers who have been victimized by unlicensed operators have dropped from approximately 7,500 per year to approximately 3,500 during the past five years. Moreover, the CSLB isn't the only state organization trying to root out unlicensed operators.

The Joint Enforcement Strike Force, established in 1993 and originally known as the Governor's Strike Force on the Underground Economy until its name was changed to the present one in 1995, is focusing a large portion of its enforcement efforts on the construction industry.

It would be a mistake, however, to sit back and wait for government to take care of the problem for you. If you really want to put your illegal competition out of business, you must do your part. You must report illegal activities to the proper state agency. Go to the CLCA website to get help and learn what you can do.

CLCA regrets that they can't make illegal operators disappear with a snap of the finger. That's not the way it is in the real world. But they strongly believe that if you follow up on some of the CLCA's suggestions and information, and if you take some individual action and responsibility, you'll be surprised at what can be achieved.