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Why Is the Board Seeking to Deny, Suspend or Revoke My Professional License?
I frequently get telephone calls from professional license applicants and holders including teachers, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, real estate agents and brokers, appraisers, all varieties of health care workers, etc… in shock because a CA licensing board and/or the CA Department of Consumer Affairs is seeking to discipline their license or deny their license application
California Department of Consumer Affairs Licence Investigation
The California Department of Consumer Affairs oversees the professional licensing for dozens of types of professional licenses including physical therapy licenses, nursing licenses, medical licenses, physicians assistant licenses, speech therapy licenses, pharmacist licenses, chiropractor licenses, dental and dental assistant licenses, and numerous other licenses in the health care and non-health care fields. If Consumer Affairs receives information that a licensee or license applicant has committed an act of dishonesty, crime or unprofessionalism, they will likely conduct an investigation
DUI Arrests & Convictions
Each California licensing board including the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Licensed Vocational Nursing Board, the CA Medical Board, the CA Dental Board, the CA Department of Insurance, the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Occupational Therapy Board, the Board of Psychology, the Board of Real Estate, the Court Reporters Board, the Veterinary Board, etc… has their own laws, rules and regulations regarding the handling of criminal arrests and convictions including DUIs.
California LVN License & RN License
There are two main types of nursing licenses (RN and LVN) in California and they are governed by separate licensing agencies/boards.
Licensed Vocational Nurses or LVNs obtain licenses from the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians. Registered Nurses or RN Licenses are governed by the Board of Registered Nursing.
The Right to an Attorney in California Administrative Hearings and Professional License Discipline Matters
California professional license holders as well as professional license applicants have due process rights which include the right to have an attorney represent them during all stages of their administrative law case. This means that if you are a California medical doctor, nurse, pharmacist, chiropractor, physical therapist, dentist, certified public accountant, psychologist, respiratory therapist, real estate broker, insurance agent, credentialed teacher, or any other licensed professional or professional license applicant you have the right to an attorney if your applicable governing board or agency is seeking to revoke, suspend, deny or otherwise discipline your license.
California Health Care and Other Professional License Investigations and the Right to Legal Counsel.
By law a California professional license such as a registered nursing license, a medical license, a teaching credential, a CPA license, a psychology license, a contractors board license, a court reporters license, a dental board license, a physical therapy license, a speech pathology license, a real estate license, an insurance license, a chiropractic board license, and other such licenses are deemed vested property rights.
Filing a Notice of Defense in Response to an Accusation or Statement of Issues
When a California Professional Licensing agency such as the CA Department of Consumer Affairs, the CA Medical Board, the CA Dental Board, the CA Board of Pharmacy, the CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the CA Board of Registered Nursing, the CA Vocational Nursing Board, the CA Bureau of Real Estate, the CA Physical Therapy Board, the CA Board of Occupational Therapy, the CA Board of Behavioral Sciences, the CA Department of Insurance, the CA Department of Social Services, the CA Office of Real Estate Appraisal, the CA Veterinary Medical Board, etc… seeks to discipline a professional license they will mail out either an Accusation or a Statement of Issues.
When these CA licensing agencies mail out the Accusation or Statement of Issues, it will be accompanied by a Statement to Respondent, Request for Discovery and two copies of a Notice of Defense. The Notice of Defense supplied by these agencies includes space for the licensee or license applicant to include their attorney’s name.
Settlements in Lieu of Administrative Hearings
If you are a California professional licensee, such as a medical doctor, osteopathic medical doctor, registered nurse, credentialed teacher, pharmacist, physical therapist, dentist, chiropractor, real estate broker, speech pathologist, certified public accountant, licensed attorney, respiratory care therapist, etc. and receive an Accusation or Statement of Issues seeking discipline (suspension, revocation or denial) of your license, you have only one recourse – request an administrative hearing.
Once you or your attorney request that administrative hearing (it is advised that you retain an administrative law attorney/professional license defense attorney as soon as you receive an Accusation or Statement of Issues), there is the possibility that the matter can be resolved or settled without the necessity of an actual administrative hearing.
What Do If You Have a Professional License and are Arrested for a Crime
The impact a criminal arrest can have on a professional license such as a teaching credential, nursing license, real estate license, pharmacy license, medical/health services license, psychology and therapy license, etc… can be immediate. Some licensing boards and agencies requires licensees to report immediately any criminal arrest. Also, because most licensing agencies have every license holders fingerprints on file, they are alerted immediately when a license holder is arrested (and fingerprinted).
Professional License Discipline & Stipulated Settlement Agreements
Initially a California licensing board or agency, such as the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Board of Registered Nursing, Board of Behavioral Sciences, or Department of Consumer Affairs, will seek to deny, suspend or revoke a license based on an allegation of misconduct such as a criminal conviction or fraud.
Normally, this intent to discipline is expressed in either a letter from the board to the licensee or through a formal complaint (Accusation or Statement of Issues). At this point the license holder or applicant has no options other than to either accept the discipline effectively jeopardizing their career, or request an administrative hearing contesting the discipline before an administrative law judge (ALJ).
LEGAL TROUBLE WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL LICENSING BOARD?
If you received a denial of a professional license or any threat to your ability to continue practicing your profession, please contact attorney Jonathan Turner using this contact form or call (916) 471-6506 for a personal conversation.