Being a licensed electrician in Wisconsin is a tremendous responsibility because electricians play a vital role in the building and construction industry. This profession touches every Wisconsin resident's life at their place of business, residence, or education. Accordingly, the state has established a high set of regulatory oversight standards for the industry. Failure to abide by these standards can expose you to severe discipline, including sanctions or the loss of your license.
Are you a licensed Wisconsin electrician being investigated by the Department of Safety and Professional Services? The department issues licenses and exercises oversight of the state's licensed professionals. They can sanction your license if they believe you've violated department standards. Successful license defense requires skill, determination, and experience. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team brings all those attributes to the table. Call us at 888.535.3686 or contact us online.
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Electricity is an invaluable resource for every Wisconsin citizen. However, ineffective electrical work poses a severe public safety hazard. That's why the Wisconsin legislature established the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) to exercise oversight over the industry. The Wisconsin Statutes clearly state: “No person may install, repair or maintain electrical wiring unless the person is licensed as an electrician by the DSPS or unless the person is enrolled as a registered Electrician by the DSPS.”
The DSPS does more than just set licensing qualifications and review applications. The legislature has granted the department wide-ranging authority to enforce a uniform set of safety and professional standards for all the state's licensed electricians. That authority includes the ability to investigate allegations of impropriety, negligence, or any other action by electricians that could impact public safety.
These investigations are conducted by the Division of Legal Services and Compliance (DLSC). Although the DLSC investigative procedures grant licensed electricians a measure of due process, the DLSC (or its representatives) retain the ultimate authority to adjudicate and discipline licensed electricians it finds to have violated Wisconsin's professional standards.
The disciplinary options available to the DLSC include:
- Fines
- Placing the offending licensed professional on probation or imposing limits on the scope of work they can perform
- Requiring the offending licensed professional to attend re-training or re-education programs to ensure future compliance with DSPS standards
- Suspending a license for a fixed period (and setting benchmarks the licensee must meet before the suspension is lifted)
- Revoking the license entirely
The severity of the punishment will depend on numerous factors, which include:
- The nature of the offense
- The prior disciplinary history (if any) of the offending licensee
- The degree of harm done to the public by the violation
- The likelihood of repeated violations by the offending licensee
- The degree to which the offending licensee cooperated with the DLSC during the investigation process
Consequences of DLSC Disciplinary Sanctions
Both the DSPS and the DLSC are public safety agencies at their core, and they are also taxpayer-funded. That means any action they take, including sanctions against your license, becomes a matter of public record. Any potential client, insurer, or employer can look up your license information in the state's online database and find your full history as an electrician.
That history will include any sanctions, past or present, against your license. Any potential client or employer will prefer to hire electricians with a clean disciplinary history. It's also important to keep in mind that DLSC discipline is often progressive, meaning the sanctions are more severe for each subsequent violation. That's why we recommend hiring our Professional License Defense Team for any DLSC investigation.
That is not the only reason you want to avoid sanctions against your license. Every electrical contractor in Wisconsin is required to carry liability insurance as a condition of licensure. Liability insurers will also base their premium quote on your previous disciplinary history. If you have a long history of multiple violations, you could end up paying a higher premium and a higher deductible. That would eat right into your profits or make you difficult to hire.
Insurers may refuse to carry you at all if your disciplinary history is too checkered. That would effectively render your license null and void, even if the DLSC doesn't suspend or revoke it for the infraction. There may be other consequences if you hold a professional license in another state. Many state licensing boards and governing bodies for skilled trades and professions require you to inform them if a professional license you hold is sanctioned.
So, for example, if you hold a general contractor's license in Illinois or Minnesota, the respective boards there may choose to sanction that license if the DLSC sanctions your Wisconsin license. This kind of license double jeopardy only underscores the importance of mounting a thorough, determined, and skillful defense of your Wisconsin electrician's license. You don't want an investigation and sanction in Wisconsin to mushroom into multiple investigations in other states.
The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team understands all these risks, and that's why we fight so hard for our clients. We are licensed professionals ourselves. We understand that we're defending much more than just a license or piece of paper you hang on the wall of your office. It's your reputation and livelihood that hangs in the balance with every DLSC investigation, and we will defend it like we're defending our own licenses.
Additional Dangers for Master Electricians
Wisconsin has three different classifications for electrical licenses. The highest of these designations is the master electrician's license, and it requires many years of work experience and continuing education to attain one. The reason for that is master electricians are expected to supervise job sites and oversee the work of registered electricians.
The Wisconsin Administrative Code states, “A person who holds a registration as a Registered Electrician shall perform electrical wiring activities under the direct supervision of a person who holds a license either as a licensed Master Electrician or a licensed Journeyman Electrician.” More importantly, every company in Wisconsin is required to have a licensed master electrician on the payroll.
This additional responsibility also means additional risk for master electricians facing DLSC investigations. If you hold the master license at your own company, you will either have to shut your doors for the duration of your suspension or hire another master electrician to serve in your place. By the same token, you could lose your job if you've been hired as a master electrician and your license is suspended.
In either case, sanctions for a master electrician can be a severe impediment to your career. Master electricians are expected to live up to the highest possible standards. Potential employers or clients may take the existence of sanctions against your master license as a sign that you are untrustworthy or incapable of handling the responsibility that comes with working at the highest level in your field.
What Infractions Can Lead to Investigations?
Several different infractions can lead to DLSC investigations, but some of the most common causes are:
- Negligence-(work of an obviously substandard quality that endangers a client or the public)
- Fraud-(e.g., submitting false information on a license application or renewal, dishonesty in the bidding process)
- Being convicted of a felony
- Some misdemeanor criminal convictions (e.g., Operating While Intoxicated, possession of certain controlled substances)
- Working while your license is suspended or revoked
Please contact the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team immediately if you are under investigation for an infraction not listed above. We have decades of experience defending professional licenses against any investigations and charges that your licensing board may seek to pursue against you.
Who Can File DLSC Complaints?
The DLSC is a public agency, which means anyone you encounter during work hours can file a complaint against you. With that said, most complaints are filed by one of the following parties:
- Dissatisfied current or former clients
- Dissatisfied current or former employees
- Current or former co-workers
- Public officials (e.g., building inspector, fire department inspector)
You are also required to self-report any criminal convictions to the DSPS within 48 hours of the conviction. The failure to report a conviction is a violation in and of itself, and you can be sanctioned for it.
Complaint Notification
Once in receipt of a complaint, the DLSC will investigate the circumstances and allegations therein. If they believe there is sufficient evidence to merit an investigation, the DLSC will contact you in writing. The written notice will summarize the nature of the violation(s) and the date(s) of the violation(s). The DLSC investigator may also ask you to provide a written response to the allegations that detail your version of events.
Although we recognize that many licensed electricians are “DIY guys,” we strongly recommend contacting our Criminal Defense Team immediately after receiving your DLSC notification and before answering questions from DLSC investigators or staff. It's not a criminal investigation, so they won't read you your Miranda rights, but anything you say to the DLSC can be used against you in their investigation.
Remember, they're trying to figure out if you pose a potential danger to the public. More importantly, they will be deciding your case, and a reasonable belief that you pose a danger to the public is all they need to sanction your license. Because of this, your response to the charges needs to be very carefully planned. We will work with you to create an effective response that doesn't expose you to additional sanctions.
How Can The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team Help?
The first thing our Professional License Defense Team brings to the table is a successful track record of defending professional licenses nationwide. We have spent our careers in this very particular area of the law, and that experience can be invaluable when your license and career are on the line. From the moment we take your case, we begin formulating a tailor-made plan to defend your license.
Our team will handle every aspect of your defense, which leaves you free to continue working and feeding your family. We will carefully coordinate with you on our strategy and keep you abreast of your case status throughout the process. Your attorney will serve as the point of contact between you and the DLSC. We will examine the case against you with a fine-toothed comb.
Your attorney will approach the case with the same commitment to detail and passion for results that motivated you to become an electrician in the first place. We will isolate any weaknesses or procedural errors in the case against you and point them out to the DLSC. Our only mission is to show the DLSC that you are a competent professional who deserves to keep your license in good standing. We never stop fighting for our clients.
DLSC Investigations Don't Have to End with Sanctions
Dealing with DLSC investigations can be scary. An adverse result can hurt your career and reputation for years to come. However, we want you to know there is a way forward, and you can fight the DLSC and win. The sooner you get us involved with your case, the more likely it is that we can positively impact the outcome. The worst thing you can do is nothing.
Show the DLSC that you take your career and reputation seriously by hiring our Professional License Defense Team. At a minimum, we will make sure that your due process rights are respected and that you are treated fairly. We know that you're trusting us with your career in any DLSC investigation, and we will reward that trust with skill, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to your defense.
This is our life's work, and we're not going to let anyone sanction your license without a fight. We can also help prepare your appeal if the DLSC rules against you. But we can't do any of that until you reach out to us. Call Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online immediately.
