Well, it’s about time! The state has finally awoken to the problems many of us in the construction industry have known for some time (“Tougher rules aid honest builders,” Monday).
But we would like to point out that it’s not only unlicensed contractors that are becoming a pervasive problem. As a drywall taping crew with more than 20 years experience, we are seeing properly licensed contractors hire one or two legitimate drywallers, who often arrive on a job site with an additional five, six or more crew members (immigrants apparently here illegally) to help do the job. These extra crew members are not employed by the company, don’t pay taxes and are not contributing to the Labor &Industries insurance pool, because they are most often paid in cash by their crew leader, who is receiving a paycheck legally.
Builders and contractors turn a blind eye to this practice, seemingly more concerned about their bottom line than ensuring all their crews are operating within the law, paying taxes and contributing to L&I.
From broken border to broken border, this problem affects every citizen. Not only in terms of L&I, but because taxpayers are picking up the tab for job-related injuries and medical care of a staggering number of undocumented workers.
Lake Stevens
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