1. (1) This rule applies to administrative remedies as described under Section 403.121. F.S. This rule does not apply to or preclude judicial remedies as authorized under Section 403.121(1) and Section 403.141, F.S.

2. (2) It is the responsibility of persons registered under this Chapter to see that work for which they have contracted or which has been performed by them or under their supervision is carried out in conformance with the requirements of all applicable Florida Statutes and Chapter 62-6, F.A.C. The following actions by a person subject to this Chapter are deemed unethical and subject to penalties as set forth within Florida Statutes and rules of the Department. The penalties listed are used as guidelines in disciplinary cases, absent aggravating or mitigating circumstances and subject to other provisions of this Chapter and Part I of Chapter 403, F.S.

   1. (a) Providing contracted services or advertising to provide services without obtaining registration from the Department as required in Rule 62-6.019, F.A.C., failure to obtain a certificate of authorization for a business organization which provides contracted services as required in Rule 62-6.023, F.A.C., acting under a name not registered or authorized by the Department. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 or revocation.

   2. (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 penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 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 penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: revocation.

   3. (c) Contracting with a delinquent registration. Delinquent registration includes suspended, revoked, void and inactive registrations. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 or revocation.
   4. (d) Failure to call for required inspections. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00 and 90 day suspension or revocation.
   5. (e) False payment statements which are the result of assessing charges to a customer for work not performed. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 and one year suspension or revocation.
   6. (f) Abandoning for 30 consecutive days, without good cause, a project in which the contractor, or person, is engaged or under contractual obligation to perform. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: revocation.
   7. (g) Aiding or abetting evasion of Chapter 489, F.S., or Chapter 381, F.S. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 and one year suspension or revocation.
   8. (h) Obtaining registration through fraud or misrepresentation. Revocation and penalty of $2,000.00.
   9. (i) Practicing fraud or deceit, making misleading or untrue representations. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000; repeat violation: revocation.

   10. (j) 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 penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 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 penalty of $2,000.00 and 90 day suspension; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 and revocation.

   11. (k) Operating a septage disposal service without a valid Department service permit. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: revocation.
   12. (l) 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 penalty of $2,000.00 per violation of Rule 62-6.010, F.A.C.; repeat violation: revocation.
   13. (m) Failure to maintain completed records of septage treatment and disposal activities. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 and 90 day suspension or revocation.
   14. (n) 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 Chapter 62-6, F.A.C. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00 per specific standard violated; repeat violation: 90 day suspension or revocation.
   15. (o) Creation or maintenance of a sanitary nuisance as defined by Section 386.01, F.S., and described in Section 386.041, F.S. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: 90 day suspension or revocation.
   16. (p) Falsifying an inspection report as a private provider inspector in violation of the standards of Rule 62-6.003, F.A.C. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: 90 day suspension of private provider inspector privileges or revocation.
   17. (q) Falsifying a site evaluation report or an existing system and system repair evaluation form. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: 90 day suspension or revocation.
   18. (r) Falsifying any maintenance service report(s) or report(s) about work performed. First violation: letter of warning or penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: 90 day suspension or revocation.
   19. (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 penalty of $2,000.00; repeat violation: penalty of $2,000.00 and one year suspension or revocation.
   20. (t) The absence of any violation from this subsection is viewed as an oversight, and is not an indication that no penalty is to be assessed.

3. (3) Circumstances which will be considered for the purposes of mitigation or aggravation of penalty include the following:

   1. (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.
   2. (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.
   3. (c) The severity of the offense.
   4. (d) The danger to the public.
   5. (e) The number of repetitions of the offense.
   6. (f) The number of complaints filed against the contractor.
   7. (g) The length of time the contractor has practiced and registration category.
   8. (h) The actual damage, physical or otherwise, to the customer.
   9. (i) The effect of the penalty upon the registrant’s livelihood.
   10. (j) Any efforts at rehabilitation.
   11. (k) Any other mitigating or aggravating circumstances.
4. (4) As used in this rule, a repeat violation is any violation on which disciplinary action is being taken where the same registrant had previously had disciplinary action taken against them or received a letter of warning in a prior case that was finalized within the preceding five years. 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.
5. (5) Where several of the above violations occur in one or more cases being considered together, the penalties will be cumulative and consecutive.
6. (6) The provisions of this section must not be construed so as to prohibit civil action or criminal prosecution as provided in Part I of Chapter 403, F.S., Part III of Chapter 489, F.S., and Section 381.0065, F.S., or for a violation of any provision of Part I of Chapter 386, F.S.
7. (7) No provision of this rule will be construed as to limit the ability of the Department to enter into binding stipulation with the accused party per Section 120.57(4), F.S.
8. (8) If a person registered under Part III of Chapter 489, F.S., fails to maintain good moral character as required by Section 489.553(4), F.S., or is convicted of, found guilty of, or enters a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a crime in any jurisdiction which directly relates to the practice of contracting or the ability to practice contracting, the Department can revoke or suspend their registration.

Rulemaking Authority 381.0065(3)(a), 403.061(7), 489.553(2), (3), 489.556, 489.557 FS. Law Implemented 403.121, 403.161, 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, Amended 6-8-26.