After January 1, 2016, if you have any intention of performing or providing a mold or moisture inspection or assessment for real property that is designated to discover mold, conditions that facilitate mold, indication of conditions that are likely to facilitate mold or any combination thereof, you will be performing a, “Mold Assessment,” as defined by New York State Regulation, (Chapter 551, Section 1, Article 32). By State definition, you will be required to be licensed prior to such services! Home Inspectors will be required to be licensed if their inspections and reports include an assessment of mold and/or moisture intrusion conditions in the home or property in question, or they offer to do any mold testing. There are some exemptions, but for those who are not exempt you must be certified by January 1, 2016!! There has been some discussion of accepting the MRS and CMP certifications for mold remediation and mold testing, issued by Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) provided it is issued within two years of the additional four (4) hour New York State regulatory required summary course. Additionally it should be noted that the MRS and CMP certification would only be valid for exemption through March 4, 2016. After that the expectation is a New York State issued Certification is required.
With less than 45 days left before the law becomes effective it becomes critical that you follow the below guidance steps to obtain the proper Mold Assessor, Remediation Supervisor, and Remediation Worker State required certification/licensure, especially if your business is mold testing or mold remediation. Steps to obtain a Mold license:
1.Attend a DOL approved Mold Assessor course. Approved training providers can be found on the DOL website. 2.Pass the course. Full attendance is required. 3.The training provider for the course will issue a certificate of completion to the licensee. 4.Licensee will then submit the application form, appropriate fee, and a copy of the certificate of completion to the DOL. 5.The DOL will issue the Mold Assessor license, which is valid for two years.
As of the date of this article, New York Department of Labor has approved eleven (11) training providers to teach the 32 hour Mold Assessor course, nine (9) entities approved to teach the 24 hour mold Remediation Contractor Course, and there are eight (8) entities who are approved to teach the 16 hour Mold Abatement Worker course. All can be found at: http://labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/safetyhealth/mold/mold-training-providers.shtm
During the courses students may be educated on following topics depending on which discipline they are attending; Moisture/Mold Sources, conditions and Prevention of Mold Growth, Potential Health effects, PPE, Technical and Legal considerations, Performance of a Mold Assessment and instrumentation usage, Sampling methods, Mold Testing, building sciences and moisture control, HVAC systems, data interpretation, writing mold management plans, Liability and Insurance costs associated to Mold services, Work Practices for safety of mold removal, Mold Remediation, cleaning and treating mold, worker protection as well as Respiratory protection, State of the Art remediation practices, and mold clearance sampling.
So what does this all mean? It means that as of January 1, 2016 you are required to have a New York State Department of Labor Mold assessor or remediation license. If you offer services of Mold and Moisture assessment, mold testing or moisture/ mold removal and do not have a New York State Department of Labor issued mold certification you would be in violation of law and could be held accountable! If in violation of the licensure requirement you would also be considered negligent in a legal proceeding if an action was ever brought against you by a customer or an employee. So, to assure you do not violate the law, and to reduce the risk of a mold litigation claim being brought against you, get certified prior to offering any mold or moisture related services in the State of New York.
For more information contact Lee E. Wasserman, at info@lewcorp.com.