Regulating Apprentices in Licensed Trades

Current law requires an electrical employer, plumbing employer, or apprenticeship program registered with the United States department of labor or a state apprenticeship agency recognized by the United States department of labor that employs an apprentice in this state (employer) to register an apprentice with the employer's respective governing board (board) within 30 days after beginning employment. When an apprentice is no longer employed as an apprentice, the bill requires the employer to remove the apprentice from the apprenticeship program and notify the applicable board of the termination of the employment no later than 30 days after the termination of the employment.

On and after January 1, 2027, an employer is also required to renew an apprentice's registration with the employer's board at least once every 12 months. The employer must provide specified information to the board when renewing the apprentice's registration. The board may charge a registration fee to pay for the costs of maintaining an apprenticeship registration database.

An employer is prohibited from registering an apprentice's registration with a board unless the apprentice is enrolled in an apprenticeship program training the apprentice for an occupation officially recognized by the United States department of labor as an electrical occupation for an electrical apprenticeship or a plumbing occupation for a plumbing apprenticeship. Each calendar quarter, the state apprenticeship agency shall publish a list of the apprenticeship programs that train apprentices for an occupation officially recognized by the United States department of labor as an electrical occupation or a plumbing occupation.

On or before July 1, 2026, the bill requires the state apprenticeship agency and the department of regulatory agencies to establish data-sharing agreements and policies to enable the entities to determine if there are apprentices registered with a board who are enrolled to be trained for occupations other than electrical or plumbing occupations and who are therefore ineligible for registration with the board. If the board cannot verify that an apprentice is eligible to be registered as an apprentice within 30 days after notice of noncompliance, the board shall remove the apprentice's registration with the board, and the noncompliant apprentice shall not perform work as a plumbing or electrical apprentice in the state.

An employer of an electrical apprentice may authorize the electrical apprentice to take the residential wireman's license examination instead of the journeyman electrician license examination if:

• The employer determines that the relevant practical experience of the apprentice is best suited to pursue the residential wireman's license instead of a journeyman electrician license; or
• The employer determines that the apprentice would be more likely to achieve an electrical license by pursuing a residential wireman's license.

If an electrical apprentice has failed to pass a license examination in 2 consecutive 3-year periods, the apprentice may request an exemption from the board from future examination requirements. The board shall grant the exemption if:

• The board determines that the apprentice has legitimate educational or professional circumstances that justify the exemption; or
• The apprentice has passed the residential wireman's license examination and is only performing residential electrical work.

An employer of a plumbing apprentice may authorize the plumbing apprentice to take the residential plumber's license examination instead of the journeyworker plumber's license examination if:

• The employer determines that the relevant practical experience of the apprentice is best suited to pursue the residential plumber's license instead of a journeyworker plumber's license; or
• The employer determines that the apprentice would be more likely to achieve a plumber's license by pursuing a residential plumber's license.

If a plumbing apprentice has failed to pass a license examination in 2 consecutive 2-year periods, the plumbing apprentice may request an exemption from the board from future examination requirements. The board shall grant the exemption if:

• The board determines that the apprentice has legitimate educational or professional circumstances that justify the exemption; or
• The apprentice has passed the residential plumber's license examination and is only performing residential plumbing work.

Current law requires that, if the cumulative training and classroom hours of an apprentice are not properly reported to the board or if an apprentice fails to take a license examination within a specified time frame, the board shall suspend the apprentice's license. The bill allows the board to instead declare the apprentice's registration status "inactive" and creates procedures for the board to restore the apprentice's registration status to "active".

A board may sanction an employer that consistently and willfully demonstrates a lack of compliance or whose apprentices show a significant pattern of noncompliance with the bill.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)