Pending License, Client-Billable Surveillance
You are the compliance manager at a licensed Boston private investigation agency. The owner hires Alex, who has five years of investigative experience in another state and has submitted an application for a Massachusetts private investigator license to the Massachusetts State Police; the application is pending and no license number has been issued. A client, a workers' compensation insurer, has authorized a three-day surveillance in Framingham starting Monday. The owner wants Alex to ride with a licensed investigator, operate the camera during gaps, draft the final report, and bill the client at the investigator rate. The owner says, 'Supervision makes it legal.' The client is not aware of Alex's status. You have two business days before the assignment. What do you do?
1. Identify the licensing problem and explain whether the owner's 'supervision' theory is sufficient under Massachusetts law.
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Massachusetts requires a person who engages in the business of private investigation for hire to hold a license issued by the Massachusetts State Police; the agency's license does not automatically license every employee. Supervision may be relevant to training and quality control, but it is not a safe substitute for an individual license unless the statute or written State Police guidance expressly allows unlicensed employees to perform investigative work under supervision. Because Alex would operate equipment, draft the report, and be billed as an investigator, the arrangement looks like unlicensed investigative practice, not clerical support. The compliance risk includes criminal penalties under c. 147, civil claims, license discipline, and evidentiary/report credibility problems. Before Monday, verify the rule in writing with the State Police Certification Unit or counsel. If no exception applies, do not assign Alex to client-billable investigative tasks.
2. What tasks, if any, can Alex perform before licensure, and how should the client be handled?
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Alex may perform administrative, clerical, or training-only tasks that do not involve investigative judgment, client billing, or creating a work product for the client-for example, filing, reviewing agency policy, or observing from the office. Riding along may be permissible only as uncompensated shadowing if no client-billed investigative work is performed and no confidential client information is used; confirm with the State Police. The client should not be billed for Alex's time as an investigator. If Alex's presence could affect the case or create a conflict, disclose the staffing change to the client in neutral terms and obtain approval. Document the decision in the file. Reassign the report and camera work to a licensed investigator until Alex's license is issued.