Associate

[wordsofman]

Opinion please ...... say in a state requiring a so-called "apprenticeship" where an associate inspector has to work for a "licensed Inspector" for a certain amount of inspections, where the licensed inspector is simply responsible for the accuracy of the report, ie: dotting i's and crossing t's. Is it legal for the associate to have his/her own company and have the company hire a licensed inspector to do the report checking?

The associate would provide his/her own insurance.

The associate and the licensed inspector would both be employees of the company.

The company would pay the licensed inspector a per inspection fee of about 40-50 dollars. A licensed inspector could pick up an extra 10,000 this way. Opinions please, thanks

[hausdok]

Hi,

I guess it's the alzheimers kicking in, but I can't seem to comprehend this question at all.

I think the notion of an inspector apprenticed to a licensed inspector, while being out there doing inspections on his own, unsupervised on-site, and collecting a fee for it, while being called an associate inspector, is silly.

I used to think it was okay, but I've altered my thinking. True apprentices must work under the watchful gaze of their mentors, not on their own. Once the guy/gal solos, he or she should be called 'inspector'. What you've got there isn't an apprenticeship, it's a probationary period.

I think it would be better to make them pass the NHIE upon completion of training and then call them 'inspectors' until they've done X-number of inspections which the mentor reviews during a probationary period. At that point they should be required to submit to an on-site peer review. Pass the peer review, and then the inspector gets to use the term 'Certified Inspector'. Kind of like what architects and engineers have to do after they complete their internships.

Wait, the fog is clearing. I think I know what you are asking now. I can't render an opinion on your question because I don't know how that law reads there. I suppose if there is nothing in the NJ law that says that the apprentice must be working for another firm then it would be okay for him/her to hire a licensed guy to supervise him, although I bet that wasn't their intention when they set things up that way.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Darren]

I believe the answer to your question is YES, that would be acceptable, however, you should contact the NJ license board for their blessings.

What bothers me most is your (in my opinion) incorrect assumption that the licensed inspector is 'SIMPLY' responsible for dotting the i's & crossing the t's.

It is my opinion (again, check with the board) the licensed inspector is responsible for the entire inspection & report. That means, if the associate misses something, the 'inspector of record' is responsible and complaints/actions can be taken against the licensed inspector.

Not such a clear choice for a licensed inspector to 'sign-off' on work he doesn't see or an associate he hasn't trained.

Darren

[kurt]

I think you need to talk to an attorney, not home inspectors. The New Jersey law has a lot of ins & outs that I don't even begin to understand, most of all the "mentoring" part.

[Darren]

Check-out this link...

http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/pels/minutehi/hi923.htm

There were several questions concerning this very topic. The answers were vague (except for the one about partnership). See the last line about the licensed inspector being responsible.

Darren