§ 5-20-12 - Corporations and firms engaging in business.
SECTION 5-20-12
§ 5-20-12 Corporations and firms engagingin business. – (a) No corporation, firm, association, partnership, or other entity shallengage in business, advertise, make application for and take out permits, bidfor work, or represent itself as a master plumber or a master irrigator unless:
(1) A licensed master plumber, as provided in this chapter,shall be continuously engaged in the supervision of the entity's plumbinginstallation, irrigation installation, maintenance, and repair work and thelicensed master is an officer of the corporation, a partner in the partnership,or a similarly authorized principal of any firm, association, or other entity;or
(2) The entity possesses a valid plumbing contractor's ormaster irrigator's license duly issued by the department of labor and trainingas described in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Upon application of any of the entities listed insubsection (a) of this section in form and substance prescribed by thedepartment of labor and training, and receipt of the fee for the applicationand license which shall be equal to the fee for a master plumber's license ormaster irrigator's license as described in § 5-20-16, the department oflabor and training shall issue the applicant entity a license as a plumbingcontractor or irrigation contractor. The plumbing contractor's or irrigationcontractor's license shall specify the name of the entity holding the licenseand shall state that the license holder shall: (1) have a licensed contractormaster plumber, as that term is defined in § 5-20-12.1, who iscontinuously engaged in the supervision of the entity's plumbing installation,maintenance, and repair work and who is an officer of the corporation, apartner in the partnership, or a similarly authorized principal of any firm,association, or other entity; or (2) continuously employ at all times whileholding the license a duly licensed master plumber, or master irrigator asprovided in this chapter, who is continuously engaged in the supervision of theentity's plumbing installation, irrigation installation, maintenance, andrepair work. The plumbing contractor's and master irrigator's license shallentitle the entity holding the license to engage in business, advertise, bidfor work, or represent itself as a master plumber or master irrigator or aplumbing contractor and shall also entitle the entity to make application forand take out permits through its duly authorized officer or similarlyauthorized principal as well as through the duly licensed contractor master asdescribed in this section or the duly licensed master plumber continuouslyemployed by the entity as stated in this section, as the case may be. Thecontractor's license shall not, in and of itself permit a principal, officer,employee, or agent of the entity holding the license to individually engage ininstallation, maintenance, or repair work as described above unless thatprincipal, officer, employee, or agent is individually licensed so to do.
(c) Any work engaged in, advertised for, applied for bypermit, bid for, or represented to be permissible shall be solely of the typefor which the licensed master plumber who serves as an officer, or similarlyauthorized principal of the entity or who is continuously employed by theentity holding a plumbing contractor's license, is duly licensed to perform.
(d) Any licensed master plumber who serves as an officer orsimilarly authorized principal of this type of entity or who is continuouslyemployed by an entity holding a plumbing contractor's license shall representthe interests of one such entity and only one such entity at any given time asdescribed in this section.
(e) In the event that the licensed master plumber describedin this section ceases to be an officer or similarly authorized principal ofone of the entities described in this section or ceases to be continuouslyemployed by an entity holding a plumbing contractor's license for any reasonwhatsoever, the entity shall provide written notice of the cessation to thedepartment of health no more than fourteen (14) days after the effective dateof occurrence of the cessation. Any entity so affected shall provide writtennotice of the cessation to the department of labor and training specifying thelicensed master plumber who is replacing the departed licensed master plumberreferenced in this section no more than forty-five (45) days after theeffective date of occurrence of the cessation.
(f) No corporation, firm, association, partnership, or otherentity which engages in, offers to engage in, or represents that it engages inplumbing installation, maintenance, or repair work in the state of Rhode Islandis permitted to incorporate, form, qualify to do business, or otherwiseregister with the Rhode Island secretary of state's office until and unlessthat office has first received a written confirmation from the department oflabor and training that all requisite licenses to be issued by the departmentof labor and training have been so issued and remain in good standing.
(g) Any willful violation of this section is grounds forrevocation of license as further described in § 5-20-27.