Michigan State Employees Ass'n v. Department of Corrections

737 N.W.2d 835, 275 Mich. App. 474
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 10, 2007
DocketDocket No. 273556
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 737 N.W.2d 835 (Michigan State Employees Ass'n v. Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michigan State Employees Ass'n v. Department of Corrections, 737 N.W.2d 835, 275 Mich. App. 474 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

SAWYER, J.

The question presented in this appeal is whether licensed master plumbers and licensed master electricians who are employed by a non-contractor employer to perform the duties of a supervising licensed master plumber or electrician to oversee plumbing or electrical work performed for that employer and to obtain permits may also hold a plumbing or electrical contractor’s license to maintain a plumbing or electrical business outside his or her employment. We hold that there is no statutory prohibition against this and that the Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) lacks the authority to create such a restriction by administrative rule.

[476]*476At issue in this appeal is whether certain licensed master plumbers and electricians employed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) may also hold plumbing or electrical contractors’ licenses. Apparently, a number of the plumbers and electricians employed by the state also hold contractor’s licenses and maintain a part-time business on the side. The plumbers and electricians at issue are those who are authorized to obtain the necessary permits on behalf of the DOC and oversee the plumbing or electrical work performed by other DOC employees.1 DLEG, which oversees the licensing of both plumbers and electricians, takes the position that those licensed master plumbers and electricians who serve as supervising master plumbers or electricians for the DOC cannot also be the supervising master plumber or electrician for their own contracting business. That is, those plumbers and electricians would only be allowed to also possess a plumbing or electrical contractor’s license if they employed another licensed master plumber or electrician to serve as the supervising licensed master for their contracting business. On cross-motions for summary disposition, the trial court ruled in favor of DLEG with respect to the plumbers, but against DLEG with respect to the electricians.

Beginning in late 2003, those plumbers and electricians employed by the DOC as supervising licensed masters were informed that they would be required to sign DLEG’s “factory affidavit” form. The form for electrician states:

I am employed as a full-time licensed electrician by the company listed above. I do not represent any other person [477]*477or company as a supervising master electrician and I will promptly notify the Department [of Labor and Economic Growth] of any changes in this written affidavit.

The “factory affidavit” for plumbers is similar:

I am presently employed as a full-time licensed plumber by the company listed above. I do not represent any other person or company as a supervising master plumber and I will promptly notify the Department of any changes in this written affidavit.

With respect to plumbers, defendants point to MCL 338.3551(3) for authority to require the factory affidavit of supervising licensed master plumbers and their restriction on outside employment. MCL 338.3551(2) and (3) provide as follows:

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) and section 15(2), (3), (4), and (5), the state or a governmental subdivision shall issue a plumbing permit only to a licensed plumbing contractor. The state or a governmental subdivision shall require the plumbing contractor to record his or her current plumbing contractor license number on the permit application. A licensed plumbing contractor shall designate 1 or more licensed master plumbers employed full-time who directly supervise the installation of plumbing to obtain permits using the license number of the plumbing contractor. The master plumber’s license number must also be recorded on the permit application.
(3) In those instances where business or industrial procedure requires the regular employment of a full-time licensed master plumber, a licensed master plumber shall be authorized to secure permits for installations of plumbing on the premises owned or occupied and used by the business provided the licensed master plumber physically supervises the plumbing work and represents only the business or industrial employer. An annual affidavit furnished by the department shall be signed by both the employer and the licensed master plumber and shall be kept on file in the department. The filing fee for an [478]*478affidavit shall be determined by the department. A new affidavit must be filed before permits will be issued if the licensed master plumber’s employment is terminated. The affidavit shall contain the following:
(a) The name and business address of the person employing the licensed master plumber.
(b) The name, address, and license number of the licensed master plumber.
(c) A statement to the effect that the employer and licensed master plumber will comply with the provisions of the act regulating installation of plumbing in this state. [Emphasis added.]

Defendants conclude from the highlighted text that a licensed master plumber who is authorized by his employer to obtain permits on behalf of the employer may not hold a contractor’s license and obtain permits on behalf of anyone else. The trial court agreed with this interpretation, and plaintiffs concede on appeal that that interpretation is correct. We, however, disagree.

Issues of statutory construction are reviewed de novo, as are grants of summary disposition.2 We must ascertain the legislative intent that may be reasonably inferred from the language used in the statute.3 Where the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, judicial construction is neither required nor permitted.4 While the statutory phrase “represents only the business or industrial employer,” when taken out of context, may suggest a requirement that the supervising licensed master plumber may only work for the em[479]*479ployer who authorizes him or her to obtain permits on behalf of any employer, when read in context, the phrase creates no such restriction.

MCL 338.3551(2) provides that a plumbing permit may only be issued to a licensed plumbing contractor. Subsection 3 of that statute creates an exception to this rule: Where an entity employs on a full-time basis a licensed master plumber, that licensed master plumber is authorized to secure permits on behalf of his or her employer for locations the employer owns or occupies. We do not share defendants’ interpretation that a person who fills this role is prevented from working for anyone else. Rather, we think that the clear and unambiguous language of the statute means that the designation of a licensed master plumber under subsection 3 only authorizes him or her to obtain permits for the employer who makes the designation under subsection 3. That is, a master licensed plumber who does not hold a contractor’s license, but is designated by his or her full-time employer under subsection 3, may obtain permits and supervise work for that employer. However, that is the limit of his or her authority under subsection 3.

Licensed master plumbers who do hold contractor licenses do not draw their authority to obtain permits and supervise work from subsection 3. They draw it from subsection 2.

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Related

MSEA v. Department of Corrections
737 N.W.2d 835 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
737 N.W.2d 835, 275 Mich. App. 474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michigan-state-employees-assn-v-department-of-corrections-michctapp-2007.