July 22, 1986

Mr. Bob Voeltz 
Administrator 
State Electrical Commission 
125 West Capital 
Pierre, South Dakota 57501

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 86-29

Journeyman Electrician's hiring of apprentice electrician for partnership

Dear Mr. Voeltz:

You have requested an official opinion from this office in regard to the following factual situation:

FACTS: 

According to law, only electrical contractors or Class B electricians can contract for installation of wiring or parts of wiring (SDCL 36-16-14).  We have parties in South Dakota with valid, filed partnerships whereby the two parties are (1) an electrical contractor and (2) the second partner is a journeyman electrician. The partnership is called Tschetter Electric when in fact the electrical contractor is a Joe Toennis out of Rapid City and Tschetter is a journeyman from Huron, South Dakota.  The partnership runs out of Huron.  The one partner, who is the journeyman, hires apprentice electricians when they are needed for workload increases, etc.

Based on the above facts, you have asked the following question:

QUESTION: 

Can the partner who is a journeyman hire apprentice electricians or must this be done by the partner who is the actual electrical contractor?

IN RE QUESTION:

SDCL 36-16-14 provides that only an electrical contractor or Class B electrician can enter into a contract to perform electrical work.  However, the fact that entering into contracts is limited to electrical contractors and Class B electricians does not prohibit a journeyman electrician from hiring apprentice electricians to work for the above partnership.  The terms of the partnership agreement apparently authorize the journeyman to hire, and nothing in the law prevents him from acting in this manner.  The answer to your question, therefore, is that the journeyman may hire apprentice electricians.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark V. Meierhenry
Attorney General