South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 79 - South Carolina Alarm System Business Act
Section 40-79-220. Branch office and registered employee requirements.

(A) The following branch office requirements apply:
(1) The department shall issue a certificate to each branch burglar alarm office. This certificate authorizes the branch office to conduct business under the name of the licensed entity. The department may create the certificate as necessary. The licensed entity must apply for the certificate prior to opening the branch office and must not conduct business from this office until the application has been approved by the department and a license number has been issued for the branch office. The certificate must be posted within the branch office upon receipt from the department.
(2) Each branch office doing business in this State must have a primary qualifying party assigned to that location exclusively. This primary qualifying party may not be a primary qualifying party for any other business location. Any disciplinary action taken by the board affects all of the offices equally, unless otherwise stipulated by the board.
(3) All branch offices shall pay a separate license fee.
(4) Every branch office and the primary qualifying party must be registered with the department prior to opening the branch office. All registered employees who have access to the licensee's client records must be registered with the department within thirty working days of employment within the branch office.
(5) Each branch office must have a separate comprehensive general liability insurance policy or be listed on the home office policy in accordance with this chapter.
(B) The following qualifying party requirements apply:
(1) An alarm business, including a sole proprietorship, may not do business unless it has in its employment a primary qualifying party who meets the requirements of this chapter.
(2) Upon passing all required examinations and meeting all other requirements, the qualifying party must be issued a qualifying party certificate. Any number of employees may become qualified and may be listed as qualifying parties.
(3) If a qualifying party ceases to perform his duties or leaves employment of the licensee, the licensee and qualifying party must notify the department in writing within fifteen days. The licensee must obtain a substitute primary qualifying party within ninety days after the primary qualifying party ceases to perform his duties. If the licensee notifies the department within the prescribed time, the license shall remain in good standing until the prescribed time limit has expired. If the primary qualifier is not replaced within the time limit above, the license or certificate, or both, may be canceled by the department. If the licensee or qualifying party, or either, fails to notify the department within the required time, disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with this chapter.
(4) A qualifying party may transfer his qualifications to another alarm business when he becomes a new employee for that business. The new employer must send written notification of the qualifying party's new employment to the department within fifteen days of employment.
(5) No qualifying party for an alarm business may serve as a qualifying party for more than one licensee at a time and must be a full-time employee of the licensee.
(6) Any qualifying party that is not listed as a qualifying party for an alarm business for four consecutive years must pass any examinations required by the board in order to become certified.
(C) The following registered employee requirements apply:
(1) All employees of a licensed alarm business that meet the definition of registered, as provided in Section 40-79-20, must be registered on a form provided by the department. The licensee must conduct a criminal background check of any applicant for employment and report the results to the department in conjunction with the registration process. The department must be notified by the licensee of each employee required to be licensed within thirty days of employment along with the results of the criminal background check of the new employee. An employee must not have access to the burglar alarm client's records until the license applicant or licensed entity verifies that the employee has not been convicted of a crime listed in Section 40-79-130 and documents in the employee's personnel file that the individual meets the registration requirements set forth in this chapter. If the employee has been convicted of a crime listed in Section 40-79-130, in order to be registered the individual must appear before the board and present evidence satisfactory to the board, in its discretion, as to the individual's fitness and qualifications for registration.
(2) The department must be notified in writing by the licensee and registered employee of termination of employment for any registered employee within thirty days after termination. If the registered employee fails to notify the department within thirty days, the department shall immediately cancel the registration of the employee. Failure of the licensee and registered employee to notify the department of the termination of the employee within thirty days may result in disciplinary action for violation of this chapter.
(3) A licensee may employ, without registering under this section, administrative, monitoring, or customer service personnel working temporarily within this State for a period not to exceed thirty consecutive days. These employees must not have access to the alarm business system's client's records until the licensed entity verifies that the employee has not been convicted of a crime listed in Section 40-79-130 and documents in the employee's personnel file that the temporary administrative, monitoring, or customer service employee meets the registration requirements set forth in this chapter. These employees do not have to be registered with the department. Any administrative or customer service personnel working over thirty consecutive days must be registered in accordance with this chapter.
(4) A licensee may temporarily employ in this State, without registering under this section, an alarm technician who is registered in another state for a period not to exceed ninety days in any given calendar year if the licensed entity verifies that the employee has not been convicted of a crime listed in Section 40-79-130 and documents in the employee's personnel file that the temporary alarm technician meets the registration requirements set forth in this chapter. This employee does not have to be registered with the department. A temporary alarm technician working over ninety days in a calendar year must be registered in accordance with this chapter.
(5) Monitoring personnel for a licensed entity located within this State that are solely engaged in burglar alarm monitoring do not have to be registered with the department, if the licensed entity verifies that the employee has not been convicted of a crime listed in Section 40-79-130 and documents in the employee's personnel file that the employee meets the registration requirements set forth in this chapter.
HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 367, Section 1; 2002 Act No. 358, Section 4.