The final order imposed fines and continuing education against the electrical contractor, and possibly could have been avoided if the contractor had properly responded to the administrative complaint or properly preserved his rights to a final hearing. The case is a cautionary tale to contractors facing licensing complaints to take them seriously and comply with deadlines and instructions relating to the complaint.
Rodriguez v. Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board, arises from a dispute between a Florida licensed electrical contractor and Florida’s Electrical Contractor Licensing Board (“ECLB”). Specifically, the ECLB initiated a complaint against the contractor, asserting that the contractor had knowingly assisted an uncertified and unregistered person in the practice of contracting. Following an informal hearing, the ECLB entered an order finding that the contractor had engaged in the alleged conduct and imposing a fine and continuing education on the contractor.
The contractor appealed the final order, arguing that he had requested a formal hearing when he returned his election of rights form and had only received an informal hearing. The ECLB’s argument in response to this was that the contractor’s election of rights form had not sufficiently identified the material facts alleged in the complaint that he intended to dispute, and that the contractor had not filed an amended election of rights form despite the ECLB sending him a request to do so.
In evaluating these arguments, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal also noted that the contractor failed to raise the lack of a formal hearing as an objection at the informal hearing, and also failed to appear at a hearing on their request for reconsideration where this issue also could have been raised. In light of these factors, the court affirmed the order finding the violation and imposing various sanctions against the contractor.
The key takeaway for contractors from this case is that Florida’s licensing laws are detailed and specific and can be difficult to navigate, especially without the assistance of a lawsuit. Contractors can inadvertently waive rights or fail to assert rights they made still have, when facing an administrative complaint or a notice of investigation. The result can be that orders imposing fines or other sanctions against a licenseholder may ultimately be irreversible due to procedural mistakes made early in the licensing complaint process. Contractors should take any proposed complaint seriously and use legal counsel to assist in resolving them.