(a) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Division of Labor.

(b) "Board" means the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board.

(c) "Contractor" means a person who in any capacity for compensation, other than as an employee of another, undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have the capacity to undertake or submits a bid to construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, structure or excavation associated with a project, development or improvement, or to do any part ~~thereof~~ of it, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection ~~therewith~~ with a project, development or improvement, where the cost of the undertaking is ~~$2,500~~ $5,000 or more.

Contractor includes a construction manager who performs management and counseling services for a construction project for a professional fee.

Contractor does not include:

(1) One who merely furnishes materials or supplies without fabricating or consuming them in the construction project;

(2) A person who personally performs construction work on the site of real property which the person owns or leases whether for commercial or residential purposes;

(3) A person who is licensed or registered as a professional and who functions under the control of any other licensing or regulatory board, whose primary business is real estate sales, appraisal, development, management and maintenance, who acting in his or her respective professional capacity and any employee of such professional, acting in the course of his or her employment, performs any work which may be considered to be performing contracting work;

(4) A pest control operator licensed under the provisions of section seven, article sixteen-a, chapter nineteen of this code to engage in the application of pesticides for hire, unless the operator also performs structural repairs exceeding $1,000 on property treated for insect pests; or

(5) A corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship whose primary purpose is to prepare construction plans and specifications used by the contractors defined in this subsection and who employs full time a registered architect licensed to practice in this state or a registered professional engineer licensed to practice in this state. Employees of such corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship ~~shall also be~~ are also exempt from the requirements of this article.

(d) "Electrical contractor" means a person who engages in the business of contracting to install, erect, repair or alter electrical equipment for the generation, transmission or utilization of electrical energy.

(e) "General building contractor" means a person whose principal business is in connection with any structures built, being built or to be built for the support, shelter and enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or movable property of any kind, requiring in the construction the use of more than two contractor classifications, or a person who supervises the whole or any part of such construction.

(f) "General engineering contractor" means a person whose principal business is in connection with public or private works projects, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following: Irrigation, drainage and water supply projects; electrical generation projects; swimming pools; flood control; harbors; railroads; highways; tunnels; airports and airways; sewers and sewage disposal systems; bridges; inland waterways; pipelines for transmission of petroleum and other liquid or gaseous substances; refineries; chemical plants and other industrial plants requiring a specialized engineering knowledge and skill; piers and foundations; and structures or work incidental ~~thereto~~ to a project.

(g) "Heating, ventilating and cooling contractor" means a person who engages in the business of contracting to install, erect, repair, service or alter heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment or systems to heat, cool or ventilate residential and commercial structures.

(h) "License" means a license to engage in business in this state as a contractor in one of the classifications set out in this article.

(i) "Multifamily contractor" means a person who is engaged in construction, repair or improvement of a multifamily residential structure.

(j) "Person" includes an individual, firm, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other entity engaged in the undertaking of construction projects or any combination ~~thereof~~ of the groups listed in this subsection.

(k) "Piping contractor" means a person whose principal business is the installation of process, power plant, air, oil, gasoline, chemical or other kinds of piping; and boilers and pressure vessels using joining methods of thread, weld, solvent weld or mechanical methods.

(l) "Plumbing contractor" means a person whose principal business is the installation, maintenance, extension and alteration of piping, plumbing fixtures, plumbing appliances and plumbing appurtenances, venting systems and public or private water supply systems within or adjacent to any building or structure; included in this definition is installation of gas piping, chilled water piping in connection with refrigeration processes and comfort cooling, hot water piping in connection with building heating and piping for stand pipes.

(m) "Residential contractor" means a person whose principal business is in connection with construction, repair or improvement of real property used as, or intended to be used for, residential occupancy.

(n) "Specialty contractor" means a person who engages in specialty contracting services ~~which~~ that do not substantially fall within the scope of any contractor classification as set out ~~herein~~ in this article.

(o) "Residential occupancy" means occupancy of a structure for residential purposes for periods greater than thirty consecutive calendar days.

(p) "Residential structure" means a building or structure used or intended to be used for residential occupancy, together with related facilities appurtenant to the premises as an adjunct of residential occupancy, which contains not more than three distinct floors which are above grade in any structural unit regardless of whether the building or structure is designed and constructed for one or more living units. Dormitories, hotels, motels or other transient lodging units are not residential structures.

(q) "Subcontractor" means a person who performs a portion of a project undertaken by a principal or general contractor or another subcontractor.

(r) "Division" means the Division of Labor.

(s) "Cease and desist order" means an order issued by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(t) The term "basic universal design" means the design of products and environments to be useable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialization.

(a) No person may engage in this state in any act as a contractor, or submit a bid to perform work as a contractor, as defined in this article, unless such person holds a license issued under the provisions of this article. No firm, partnership, corporation, association or other entity shall engage in contracting in this state unless an officer thereof holds a license issued pursuant to this article.

(b) Any person to whom a license has been issued under this article shall keep the license or a copy thereof posted in a conspicuous position at every construction site where work is being done by the contractor. The contractor's license number shall be included in all contracting advertisements and all fully executed and binding contracts. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be subject, after hearing, to a warning, a reprimand, or a fine of not more than $200.

(1) Work done exclusively by employees of the United States Government, the State of West Virginia, a county, municipality or municipal corporation, and any governmental subdivision or agency thereof;

(2) The sale or installation of a finished product, material or article or merchandise which is not actually fabricated into and does not become a permanent fixed part of the structure;

(3) Work performed personally by an owner or lessee of real property on property the primary use of which is for agricultural or farming enterprise;

(4) A material supplier who renders advice concerning use of products sold and who does not provide construction or installation services;

(5) Work performed by a public utility company regulated by the West Virginia Public Service Commission and its employees;

(6) Repair work contracted for by the owner of the equipment on an emergency basis in order to maintain or restore the operation of such equipment;

(7) Work performed by an employer's regular employees, for which the employees are paid regular wages and not a contract price, on property owned or leased by the employer which is not intended for speculative sale or lease;

(8) Work personally performed on a structure by the owner or occupant thereof; ~~and~~

(9) Work performed when the specifications for such work have been developed or approved by engineering personnel employed by the owner of a facility by registered professional engineers licensed pursuant to the laws of this state when the work to be performed because of its specialized nature or process cannot be reasonably or timely contracted for within the general area of the facility; and

(10) Work performed when the actual and total cost of the project is less than $5,000, including labor, materials and all other expenses related to the project.”