Current through Register Vol. 64, No. 3, March 1, 2025
(1) A
complaint must be of a type described under ORS
701.140.
(2) A complaint must be filed with the agency
within the time allowed under ORS
701.143.
(3) A complaint will be processed only
against a licensed entity. Whether a respondent is licensed for purposes of
this section must be determined as follows:
(a) For an owner, primary contractor or
subcontractor complaint, the respondent will be considered licensed if the
respondent was licensed during all or part of the work period.
(b) For a material complaint, the respondent
will be considered licensed if one or more invoices involve material delivered
while the respondent was licensed. A surety company or financial institution is
only liable for payments for material delivered within the period of time that
the respondent was licensed.
(c)
For an employee or employee trust complaint, the respondent will be considered
licensed if the respondent was licensed on one or more days that the
complainant, or the employee that is the subject of the trust, performed work
that was not paid for. A surety company or financial institution is only liable
for payments for unpaid wages or benefits provided on days on which the
respondent was licensed.
(4)
(a) The
complainant must have been properly licensed at the time the bid was made or
the contract was entered into and must have remained licensed continuously
throughout the work period if:
(A) The work at
issue in the complaint requires that the complainant be licensed under ORS
701.021 in order to perform the
work; and
(B) The complaint does
not arise from defects, deficiencies or inadequate performance of construction
work.
(b) As used in
section (4) of this rule, "properly licensed" means the complainant:
(A) Had a current valid license issued by the
agency and was not on inactive status;
(B) Was licensed for the type of work at
issue in the complaint;
(C)
Complied with the requirements of ORS
701.035 and OAR 812-003-1250 as
they applied to the complainant's license status as an "exempt" or "nonexempt"
contractor; and
(D) Complied with
any other requirements and restrictions on the complainant's license.
(5) Complaints will be
accepted only when one or more of the following relationships exist between the
complainant and the respondent:
(a) A direct
contractual relationship based on a contract entered into by the complainant
and the respondent, or their agents;
(b) An employment relationship or assigned
relationship arising from a Bureau of Labor and Industries employee
claim;
(c) A contract between the
complainant and the respondent providing that the complainant is a trustee
authorized to receive employee benefit payments from the respondent for
employees of the respondent; or
(d)
A real estate purchase conditioned upon repairs made by the
respondent.
(6)
Complaints will be accepted only for work performed within the boundaries of
the State of Oregon or for materials or equipment supplied or rented for
fabrication into or use upon structures located within the boundaries of the
State of Oregon.
(7) The agency may
refuse to process a complaint or any portion of a complaint that includes an
allegation of a breach of contract, negligent or improper work or any other act
or omission within the scope of ORS
701.140 that is the same as an
allegation contained in a complaint previously filed by the same complainant
against the same respondent, except that the agency may process a complaint
that would otherwise be closed if the previously filed complaint was:
(a) Withdrawn before the on-site
meeting;
(b) Closed without a
determination on the merits before the on-site meeting;
(c) Closed because the complainant failed to
pay the complaint processing fee required under OAR
812-004-0110 or
812-004-1110.
(d) Closed or dismissed with an explicit
provision allowing the subsequent filing of a complaint containing the same
allegations as the closed or dismissed complaint; or
(e) Closed or withdrawn because the
respondent filed bankruptcy.
(8) Nothing in section (7) of this rule
extends the time limitation for filing a complaint under ORS
701.143.
(9) A complaint by a person furnishing
material, or renting or supplying equipment to a contractor may not include a
complaint for non-payment for tools sold to a licensee, for equipment sold to a
licensee and not fabricated into a structure, for interest or service charges
on an account, or for materials purchased as stock items.
(10) Complaints by a contractor or by persons
furnishing material, or renting or supplying equipment to a contractor will not
be processed unless they are at least $150 in amount, not including the
processing fee required by
812-004-1110.
(11) The agency may process a complaint
against a licensed contractor whose license was inactive under OAR
812-003-0330,
812-003-0340,
812-003-0350,
812-003-0360 and
812-003-0370 during the work
period.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
670.310 &
701.235
Stats. Implemented: ORS
701.131,
701.133,
701.139,
701.140,
701.143,
701.145 &
701.146
