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Waiver of liability from contractor with no workman's comp.
Anonymous4 views3 answers
Our contractor is a sole proprietor, and does not carry workman's comp insurance. He explained that if he is injured, it would be covered under his personal insurance. He recently brought on another CG friend, and his crew, to help with our project. We pay them directly for their labour. If the new CG and crew were injured on the job, would we then be liable? Or would that fall on our original CG who brought in this crew? How do we ensure we are protected from liability in this case?
You're playing with fire and are very likely to get burned by this arrangement. By CG, I assume you mean General Contractor so maybe GC would be less confusing. If you mean something else, please explain.
Does this other "CG friend" have W.C. insurance? If not, it's likely that you would be liable in case of an injury. The way you protect yourself in this situation is to require that the general contractor and all sub contractors have workers' comp insurance and they show you the certificate of insurance. Good luck.
A contractor without either Work Comp insurance or a CSLB-issued exemption is a contractor without a valid license. A contractor without a valid license is a contractor who is barred by law from collecting any money for the work, even if the work is satisfactory. It's harsh; it's unfair; it's the law. And your contractor knows this. Tell him to give you a copy of his exemption or you will make a demand of CSLB.
I have seen this play out badly on too many occasions. Mr. Borah has excellent Spider Sense regarding your inherent financial risk, and Ms. McCall is correct that you may not have to pay any Sub-Contractor who does not produce a valid Certificate of Insurance. Not carrying necessary WC Insurance administratively voids their License for the uninsured work, which allows you to request a refund of the work that was improperly uninsured. Your Homeowner's Policy will actually insulate you if everything goes to Hell, but they won't be pleased with you. The problem is completely avoidable. Knowingly shifting risk to the HO Policy so you can take the low bid is every bit as wrong as the GC setting you up for a claim with an uninsured Sub-Contractor.
