As a practicing professional in California, your license is your livelihood. Any investigation by the licensing board can jeopardize your capability to practice. The good news is that some investigations do not go up to the imposition of disciplinary action. If you act right, the board may terminate the investigation against you, close the case, and you can continue to practice your career. This blog explains how you can have your licensing board terminate an investigation against you.
Investigations by Licensing Boards or DCA
California licensing boards have the legal authority to probe complaints against licensees and impose discipline when necessary to safeguard public safety. When you receive a letter or phone call from the board investigator or DCA (Department of Consumer Affairs), your license, livelihood, and career could be in trouble. Licensing boards or the DCA can start an investigation for various reasons. These include:
- Negligence: Licensing boards investigate single acts of gross negligence and repeated conduct of simple negligence. Generally, negligence is any act that does not satisfy the professional standards of care a licensee owes a client. Prevalent examples of negligence include a doctor committing surgical mistakes, failing to diagnose, or providing an incorrect diagnosis. It can also be an accountant giving poor financial counsel, which causes a client to miss out on particular tax reliefs and suffer large tax bills.
- Criminal convictions: A criminal conviction can risk you losing your license. Prosecution alone may not jeopardize your license. However, the board may investigate whether discipline is warranted after a sentence. Not every criminal conviction will endanger your license. Licensing boards are mainly concerned with convictions involving DUI, drug crimes, fraud, theft, murder, and sex crimes. A probe will consider the circumstances surrounding the incident that resulted in your charges. License holders have the legal duty to report felony charges or any conviction to the licensing board.
- Sexual misconduct: Licensing birds take allegations of sexual misconduct against clients very seriously. A licensee risks facing disciplinary action when a staff member or client raises accusations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or other cases of sexual misconduct.
- Professional misconduct: Licensees’ conduct in the place of work is subject to several rules and regulations. The most prevalent violations centered around professional misconduct that prompt investigations are breach of confidence, record alteration, insurance fraud, and false advertising. Most allegations of unprofessional conduct involve clear violations on the licensee’s part. Complaints regarding a licensee’s demeanor or attitude towards a patient do not generally constitute a basis for a probe into unprofessional misconduct.
Contrary to popular opinion, board or DCA investigations and demand for interviews are not informal. They are serious and crucial. Trained investigators, sometimes law enforcement, carry out the investigations. Your uncontrolled participation could result in additional discipline.
You Can Have The Board Terminate an Investigation Against You
Whatever you do when investigations are ongoing will determine whether the board drops the investigation or pursues the case up to the imposition of disciplinary action.
Hire a Professional License Attorney
When under a licensing board investigation, the first thing to do is contact an experienced professional license defense attorney. The board's enforcement units and DCA employ special investigators and police investigators to do investigations and interviews, and they are highly skilled. It is highly advisable to consult a lawyer before talking to these investigators, as they can use anything you tell them against you.
An attorney is valuable during license board investigations in so many ways. They will assist you in avoiding mistakes that licensees commit during investigations. They can also advise you on your legal rights and communicate with the board. With an attorney by your, you will also have someone to discuss the investigation with so you know what to expect.
An attorney will also help you navigate the interview process. An interview with the board is the initial chance to have the board terminate the investigation. To prepare for the interview, your lawyer can request a detailed overview of the allegations brought against you.
Next, they will contact the investigators to acquire the basis of the board's investigation. After knowing the scope and basis of the year investigation, the lawyer will strategically work with you to prepare you for the interview. At the interview, the lawyer can take these steps to help:
- Request that an expert scrutinize investigation records.
- Consult with a medical expert
- Obtain a psychological analysis
- Obtain a forensic assessment
- Request tailored and specific mitigation records
- Review relevant and recent case law
- Request court records per the Public Records Act
- Meet with you to comprehend the supposed conduct and related professional or personal factors.
- Prepare mitigation circumstances to present to the board investigator and DCA.
Most importantly, your lawyer will evaluate the documentation and information provided and analyze whether there may be criminal consequences. If criminal repercussions arise from participating in the investigations, your lawyer will advise on your constitutional rights and protections. They will then strategize on cooperating with the probe while enforcing your rights.
Watching How You Conduct Yourself Throughout The Investigation
The investigative process entails several steps. How you conduct yourself through these steps can help investigators deduce whether or not you committed wrongdoing and whether or not to drop the investigation.
Fact Gathering
During the licensing board investigations, the investigators collect crucial information, including witness statements, records, and other relevant documents. You have the professional duty to cooperate fully with the investigation. This includes giving accurate details and relevant documents and adhering to investigational subpoenas.
It also entails answering questions honestly and not obstructing or intimidating the investigation process. Not cooperating can result in not terminating the investigation and pursuing disciplinary action. Thus, being professional and responsive when dealing with investigators is essential.
Statements and Interviews
The investigators may need you to grant interviews or provide statements. You want to be truthful when explaining the events in question. False or misleading information will worsen the situation. That said, any chances of having the investigation terminated will be thwarted. Using their strategies, investigators might try to talk you into a false sense of security or intimidate you. It is crucial not to speak to them until you retain a lawyer, who should be there during any questioning.
Filing of the Response
After you receive notice of the investigation, you must respond swiftly. You can seek an extension if you cannot prepare the response on time. Compile all the relevant records and documents. This will help you give an accurate and detailed account of the matter. In turn, you will submit a thorough and well-organized response.
Collaborate with your lawyer to ensure you have responded fully to the notice of investigation. Keep the tone of the response professional and avoid hostility towards a complainant. Board investigators favorably view an empathetic response to a complaint.
If a board or DCA investigator contacts you, your first and essential step should be to contact a lawyer. This contact might occur via the phone, letter, or in person. Whichever way it happens, it is crucial to safeguard your professional license immediately. The most effective way to do that is to seek help from a skilled attorney.
When you receive that communication from investigators, they have found something worthy of contacting you. It could be because they have found irrefutable evidence of the accusations brought against you. Some investigators possess the peace officers’ authority. They can use anything you mention to them against you in the disciplinary proceedings. In some cases, whatever you say might even form the foundation for an arrest.
Investigators may be accommodating and friendly. They may say you are free to hire or consult with a lawyer, but you are not mandated to have one. However, no matter how nice the investigator might be, do not forget why they speak to you. They are searching for evidence to show you committed wrongdoing. Talking to and being cooperative with investigators without an attorney rarely leads to something good.
According to California statute, you have certain obligations and rights. For example, you must attend an interview should an investigator request one. However, you are also entitled to legal representation during the interview. You have generally spent a lot of money and several years to acquire your professional license. If your career is at risk because of an investigation, you have every right to defend yourself and have the inquiry terminated.
Request to Know The Content of the Complaint Against You
Under California’s BPC (Business and Professions Code), licensing boards must develop and maintain a central file for every license holder. The files must have information to do with:
- Any conviction of an offense involving professional misconduct
- Any public complaints
- Any settlement or judgment upwards of 3,000 U.S. dollars associated with professional malpractice
- Disciplinary actions
- Reports about discipline from healthcare facilities
Regulatory agencies and law enforcement might review these files. Some information in these files, like formal disciplinary action records, must be accessible to the general public. Every licensing board maintains particular policies about disciplinary publications.
Per this law, a license holder and their lawyer have the legal right to scrutinize and photocopy the entire file. Sometimes, information associated with an information source’s identity might be redacted. Inspecting the files, particularly the complaints brought against you could be critical in creating strategies to respond to investigations.
Your lawyer can review the information in your central file and work closely with you to mount a defense strategy to any accusations in the file.
Note that despite the board disclosing the file to you, you have the right to confidentiality during the investigation. Details of the investigation are deemed confidential. That said, the licensing board cannot disclose that there is an investigation or a complaint against you. They can only tell that to particular authorized entities. So, after they have disclosed the information to you and your lawyer, they should not disclose it to any unauthorized party. However, after an accusation is filed, it is a public record, and the board can reveal details.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
Avoiding mistakes while under investigation can also lead to a positive outcome. When under investigation, some mistakes are harmful. They may result in the investigators deducing you committed misconduct. Avoiding these mistakes can increase your chances of having the investigations terminated. Some of the errors you must avoid include:
Waiting to Retain a Lawyer
Waiting too long to hire an attorney or failing to retain one is among the common and biggest mistakes. Many people learn they are being investigated and assume they can navigate it themselves. They only realize they cannot handle it once they hear the potential outcomes. Or they feel the odds are against them. An attorney can indeed assist at whichever point you decide to hire them. However, they can do a lot of good for you if you hire them earlier.
Going Public With the Complaint
You might feel angry regarding the investigations against you. Or, you might feel as though the licensing board is targeting you. Many people are highly vocal about the investigations against them. They complain to family members, coworkers, and even clients. Doing so can be detrimental to you as investigations are ongoing. Except for your talks with your lawyer, nothing safeguards your conversations with other parties. The investigators can call these parties up at any time to say what you said to them and anything you mentioned regarding the investigation.
Mishandling Communications With Investigators
You must be careful whenever you talk to investigators. Do not be confrontational or abrasive. That would indicate you think the investigators are trying to terminate your career. You also do not want to be friendly and an open book. Anything you say might become part of the investigation, and it is too easy to say something the investigators can interpret negatively. That is why you want to fire a lawyer immediately. The lawyer can advise you on what to and not to say. They might even handle all board communications for you.
Losing or Destroying Evidence
Do not panic and begin acting out of fear rather than reason should you learn there is an investigation against you. If you do that, you risk making yourself look guilty and could face severe repercussions. Destroying evidence, such as social media posts and digital communication, is not wise.
Even if you have committed mistakes previously, covering them up is a bad move if you wish to continue practicing. If the board requests material, hand it over, whether or not it is damning notwithstanding. This is another advantage of having a lawyer by your side. They can submit evidence in the best light possible.
Not Taking the Investigations Seriously
Among the most prevalent errors you can commit is ignoring an investigation. You might presume that a complaint against you is due to a simple misunderstanding. Or, you may think it is from an angry patient with no power over your career.
However, should your licensing board decide to investigate you due to a complaint, they have already considered it credible enough to commit time probing. Disregarding it, ignoring requests for info, or assuming the problem will settle itself can be detrimental to your career. So much is on the line. For example, if the investigations advance and you lose your license, you may be unable to secure any job in your profession in the future.
Representing Yourself
You can still represent yourself before the licensing board. However, doing that will rarely be in your best interest. According to California statute, you are entitled to attorney representation throughout the disciplinary and investigation process. Board investigation is a formal process that frequently leads to discipline.
Sometimes, an investigation could even result in criminal charges. Attorney representation is crucial to safeguarding your freedom and license. The mission of licensing boards is to protect the general public and promote higher standards of practice. Administrative board members might be your peers but not your friends. During investigations, their objectives typically do not align with yours.
Intricate rules and regulations govern license holders and licensing birds. For example, if investigators request your records, you must respond within fifteen days. Failure to do so will subject you to harsh fines. An experienced license defense lawyer can help you navigate the process. They will also ensure you adhere to these rules while fighting for your interests.
Find A Skilled Professional License Defense Attorney Near Me
Board investigations are a critical stage of the professional license disciplinary process. This stage determines whether your case will move forward and subject you to disciplinary action or will be dropped. You want to be careful here, as whatever you do could land you in more trouble. Most importantly, you need to hire an expert license defense lawyer.
A skilled lawyer has handled many disciplinary cases. They will tell you what to do to raise the chances of the investigation being dropped, plus what to expect. At The Legal Guardian, we defend professional license holders and applicants at every stage of the disciplinary process. Over the years of our practice, we have helped professionals receive or keep their licenses. If you are under investigation in Long Beach, please call us at 866-448-6811 to discuss your case.
