Florida Regulations 62-6.022: Standards of Practice and Disciplinary Guidelines
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(1) It shall be the responsibility of persons registered under this rule to see that work for which they have contracted and which has been performed by them or under their supervision is carried out in conformance with the requirements of all applicable Florida Statutes and Fl. Admin. Code Chapter 62-6 The following actions by a person included under this rule shall be deemed unethical and subject to penalties as set forth in this section. The penalties listed shall be used as guidelines in disciplinary cases, absent aggravating or mitigating circumstances and subject to other provisions of this section.
(a) Providing contracted services without obtaining registration from the Department, failure to obtain a certificate of authorization for a firm which provides contracted services, acting under a name not registered or authorized by the department. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine, or revocation.
(b) Permit violations.
1. Contractor initiates work to install, modify, or repair a system when no permit has been issued by the Department. A permit is issued after construction is started but prior to completion of the contracted work. No inspections are missed. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and 90 day suspension or revocation.
2. Contracted work is completed without a permit having been issued, or no permit application is received until after contracted work was completed, resulting in missed inspection or inspections. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $1,000.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(c) Contracting with a delinquent registration. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine or revocation.
(d) Failure to call for required inspections. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 and 90 day suspension or revocation.
(e) False payment statements which are the result of assessing charges to a customer for work not performed. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(f) Failure to reasonably honor a written warranty. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violations, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(g) Abandoning for 30 consecutive days, without good cause, a project in which the contractor is engaged or under contractual obligation to perform. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(h) Aiding or abetting evasion of Florida Statutes Chapter 489 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(i) Obtaining registration through fraud or misrepresentation. Revocation and $500.00 fine.
(j) Convicted or found guilty of a crime relating to contracting. Use penalty for violation most closely resembling the act underlying the conviction; repeat violation, revocation.
(k) Practicing fraud or deceit, making misleading or untrue representations. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(l) Gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct which:
1. Causes no monetary or other harm to a customer, or physical harm to any person. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and 90 day suspension or revocation.
2. Causes monetary or other harm to a customer, or physical harm to any person. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 and 90 day suspension; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and revocation.
(m) Operating a septage disposal service without a valid Department operating permit. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(n) Failure to properly treat or properly dispose of septage, holding tank waste, portable restroom waste, or food service sludge. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 per violation of Fl. Admin. Code R. 62-6.010; repeat violation, revocation.
(o) Failure to maintain completed records of septage treatment and disposal activities. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and 90 day suspension or revocation.
(p) Installation, modification, or repair of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system in violation of the standards of Section 381.0065 or 381.00655, F.S., or Fl. Admin. Code Chapter 62-6 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 per specific standard violated; repeat violation, 90 day suspension or revocation.
(q) Creation or maintenance of a sanitary nuisance as defined by Florida Statutes § 386.041 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, 90 day suspension or revocation.
(r) Falsifying an inspection report or covering a system in violation of the standards of Fl. Admin. Code R. 62-6.003 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, 90 day suspension of master septic tank contractor privileges or revocation of registration.
(s) Performing service on an onsite sewage disposal system that is clearly not necessary to improve the function or design of the system without notifying the property owner that such work is optional. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(t) The absence of any violation from this section shall be viewed as an oversight, and shall not be construed as an indication that no penalty is to be assessed.
(2) Circumstances which shall be considered for the purposes of mitigation or aggravation of penalty shall include the following:
(a) Monetary or other damage to the registrant’s customer, in any way associated with the violation, which damage the registrant has not relieved, as of the time the penalty is to be assessed.
(b) Actual job-site violations of this rule or conditions exhibiting gross negligence, incompetence or misconduct by the contractor, which have not been corrected as of the time the penalty is being assessed.
(c) The severity of the offense.
(d) The danger to the public.
(e) The number of repetitions of the offense.
(f) The number of complaints filed against the contractor.
(g) The length of time the contractor has practiced and registration category.
(h) The actual damage, physical or otherwise, to the customer.
(i) The effect of the penalty upon the contractor’s livelihood.
(j) Any efforts at rehabilitation.
(k) Any other mitigating or aggravating circumstances.
(3) As used in this rule, a repeat violation is any violation on which disciplinary action is being taken where the same licensee had previously had disciplinary action taken against him or received a letter of warning in a prior case. This definition applies regardless of the chronological relationship of the violations and regardless of whether the violations are of the same or different subsections of this rule. The penalty given in the above list for repeat violations is intended to apply only to situations where the repeat violation is of a different subsection of this rule than the first violation. Where the repeat violation is the very same type of violation as the first violation, the penalty set out above will generally be increased over what is shown for repeat violations.
(4) Where several of the above violations shall occur in one or several cases being considered together, the penalties shall normally be cumulative and consecutive.
(5) The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to prohibit civil action or criminal prosecution as provided in Part III of Florida Statutes Chapter 489, and Florida Statutes § 381.0065, or for a violation of any provision of Part I of Florida Statutes Chapter 386 No provision of this section shall be construed as to limit the ability of the Department to enter into binding stipulation with the accused party per Florida Statutes § 120.57(4)
Rulemaking Authority 381.0011(4), (13), 381.0065(3)(a), 489.553(2), (3), 489.556, 489.557 FS. Law Implemented Part III 489 FS. History-New 3-17-92, Amended 1-3-95, 2-13-97, Formerly 10D-6.0751, Amended 2-3-98, 5-24-04, Formerly 64E-6.022.
Terms Used In Florida Regulations 62-6.022
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
(b) Permit violations.
1. Contractor initiates work to install, modify, or repair a system when no permit has been issued by the Department. A permit is issued after construction is started but prior to completion of the contracted work. No inspections are missed. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and 90 day suspension or revocation.
2. Contracted work is completed without a permit having been issued, or no permit application is received until after contracted work was completed, resulting in missed inspection or inspections. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $1,000.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(c) Contracting with a delinquent registration. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine or revocation.
(d) Failure to call for required inspections. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 and 90 day suspension or revocation.
(e) False payment statements which are the result of assessing charges to a customer for work not performed. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(f) Failure to reasonably honor a written warranty. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violations, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(g) Abandoning for 30 consecutive days, without good cause, a project in which the contractor is engaged or under contractual obligation to perform. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(h) Aiding or abetting evasion of Florida Statutes Chapter 489 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(i) Obtaining registration through fraud or misrepresentation. Revocation and $500.00 fine.
(j) Convicted or found guilty of a crime relating to contracting. Use penalty for violation most closely resembling the act underlying the conviction; repeat violation, revocation.
(k) Practicing fraud or deceit, making misleading or untrue representations. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(l) Gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct which:
1. Causes no monetary or other harm to a customer, or physical harm to any person. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and 90 day suspension or revocation.
2. Causes monetary or other harm to a customer, or physical harm to any person. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 and 90 day suspension; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and revocation.
(m) Operating a septage disposal service without a valid Department operating permit. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, revocation.
(n) Failure to properly treat or properly dispose of septage, holding tank waste, portable restroom waste, or food service sludge. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 per violation of Fl. Admin. Code R. 62-6.010; repeat violation, revocation.
(o) Failure to maintain completed records of septage treatment and disposal activities. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and 90 day suspension or revocation.
(p) Installation, modification, or repair of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system in violation of the standards of Section 381.0065 or 381.00655, F.S., or Fl. Admin. Code Chapter 62-6 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00 per specific standard violated; repeat violation, 90 day suspension or revocation.
(q) Creation or maintenance of a sanitary nuisance as defined by Florida Statutes § 386.041 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, 90 day suspension or revocation.
(r) Falsifying an inspection report or covering a system in violation of the standards of Fl. Admin. Code R. 62-6.003 First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, 90 day suspension of master septic tank contractor privileges or revocation of registration.
(s) Performing service on an onsite sewage disposal system that is clearly not necessary to improve the function or design of the system without notifying the property owner that such work is optional. First violation, letter of warning or fine up to $500.00; repeat violation, $500.00 fine and one year suspension or revocation.
(t) The absence of any violation from this section shall be viewed as an oversight, and shall not be construed as an indication that no penalty is to be assessed.
(2) Circumstances which shall be considered for the purposes of mitigation or aggravation of penalty shall include the following:
(a) Monetary or other damage to the registrant’s customer, in any way associated with the violation, which damage the registrant has not relieved, as of the time the penalty is to be assessed.
(b) Actual job-site violations of this rule or conditions exhibiting gross negligence, incompetence or misconduct by the contractor, which have not been corrected as of the time the penalty is being assessed.
(c) The severity of the offense.
(d) The danger to the public.
(e) The number of repetitions of the offense.
(f) The number of complaints filed against the contractor.
(g) The length of time the contractor has practiced and registration category.
(h) The actual damage, physical or otherwise, to the customer.
(i) The effect of the penalty upon the contractor’s livelihood.
(j) Any efforts at rehabilitation.
(k) Any other mitigating or aggravating circumstances.
(3) As used in this rule, a repeat violation is any violation on which disciplinary action is being taken where the same licensee had previously had disciplinary action taken against him or received a letter of warning in a prior case. This definition applies regardless of the chronological relationship of the violations and regardless of whether the violations are of the same or different subsections of this rule. The penalty given in the above list for repeat violations is intended to apply only to situations where the repeat violation is of a different subsection of this rule than the first violation. Where the repeat violation is the very same type of violation as the first violation, the penalty set out above will generally be increased over what is shown for repeat violations.
(4) Where several of the above violations shall occur in one or several cases being considered together, the penalties shall normally be cumulative and consecutive.
(5) The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to prohibit civil action or criminal prosecution as provided in Part III of Florida Statutes Chapter 489, and Florida Statutes § 381.0065, or for a violation of any provision of Part I of Florida Statutes Chapter 386 No provision of this section shall be construed as to limit the ability of the Department to enter into binding stipulation with the accused party per Florida Statutes § 120.57(4)
Rulemaking Authority 381.0011(4), (13), 381.0065(3)(a), 489.553(2), (3), 489.556, 489.557 FS. Law Implemented Part III 489 FS. History-New 3-17-92, Amended 1-3-95, 2-13-97, Formerly 10D-6.0751, Amended 2-3-98, 5-24-04, Formerly 64E-6.022.