Relationship and family violence, including harassment or abuse to one's romantic partner, child, elderly parent, or other current or former member of the household, touches all of us, ignoring economic, geographic, and racial lines. For Alabama nurses, a history of domestic violence can put a permanent stain on one's professional reputation and record, with very tangible consequences related to your nursing license.
Alabama nurses seeking to apply for their professional license for the first time or renew their license (including single-state and multistate renewals) must consider whether there is anything detrimental that will turn up in their background check, such as a charge or criminal conviction, whether related to dating or domestic violence or any other crime. Make no mistake, the Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN) does their due diligence when reviewing new and existing applicants.
Are you among the nearly 100,000 registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) licensed by the Alabama Board of Nursing? Do you have anything in your past that would indicate a crime against a husband, wife, common-law spouse, ex-husband, ex-wife, or current or former girlfriend or boyfriend? What about a child, parent, grandparent, or another household member?
If you have any fear that a dating or relationship violence incident will turn up when the ABN looks into your records, such as an active or closed criminal investigation or even a pending charge, you should secure legal help. If you've thought about withholding relevant information, keep in mind that nursing boards take “accidental” omissions seriously. Grounds for discipline by the ABN include “concealment of a material fact in applying for or securing licensure.” Your smartest course of action is to contact the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our online response form to summarize your situation.
Alabama Law and Your Nursing License
Alabama law – specifically Administrative Code Chapter 610-X-8, Disciplinary Action – gives the Board of Nursing the responsibility and discretion to sanction a nurse's professional license for engaging in conduct that they believe is “inconsistent with good moral character.” In determining this, they do consider one's criminal history.
If a nurse has been found guilty of a crime involving “moral turpitude” or “gross immorality,” whether a misdemeanor or felony, they can be sanctioned under the law. This could involve abuse, violence, a sexual offense, or “any other conduct detrimental to the public's health, safety or welfare,” whether one is convicted or pleads not guilty, no contest, nolo contendere, or a similar plea.
The ABN is legally required to enforce standards of nursing practice and nursing education and, when necessary, they will impose sanctions on a nurse that may include:
- Reprimanding the nurse
- Fining the nurse
- Placing the nurse on probation with conditions for continued practice
- Suspending the nurse's license
- Revoking the nurse's license (including voluntary surrender)
- Requiring the evaluation of a nurse
- Imposing continuing education requirements upon a nurse
- Disciplining the nurse in other ways
Nurses whose licenses are suspended initially cannot legally practice in Alabama “until conditions are met.” Conditions could include payment of a fine, completing continuing education, or a corrective action. Usually, suspensions last no more than 12 months, but they can last for 60 months. The good news is that the vast majority of nurses whose licenses are suspended succeed in returning to practice or transitioning to probation monitoring.
Practicing with a probationary license means that a nurse can practice but is subject to specific conditions and monitoring. For example, they may be restricted from working in certain settings, such as the home of an individual patient, home healthcare setting, or hospice. If you are on probation and hold a multistate compact license, this will be revoked, permitting you to practice only in Alabama until you satisfy all conditions. In this case, nurses are also not permitted to contract for services or work for a travel nurse agency, temporary employment agency, or nursing float pool. Your employment monitoring will also likely include your employer being required to submit reports about your performance and a restriction on the number of hours you can work in a two-week period without written Board of Nursing pre-authorization.
Alabama's Nurse Practice Act and Your License
The Alabama Board of Nursing is obligated to abide by the Alabama Nurse Practice Act (NPA). It is under this act that nursing license applicants are required to submit to state and national criminal history background checks.
The NPA outlines grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation of one's nursing license, as well as fines. This includes being convicted of a felony or being found guilty of a crime involving moral turpitude or gross immorality.
Keep in mind that even if you are not going through a formal criminal investigation by the courts, your colleagues and your employer are legally mandated to report any unethical or unprofessional conduct. Even if the conduct doesn't take place at work or with a patient, someone aware of any unsavory conduct pertaining to your personal relationships may decide to report you to the Board of Nursing under the criteria involving ethics. Regardless of whether the behavior falls under the conduct in ABN's Complaint Evaluation Tool, a complaint may raise a red flag.
Alabama Criminal Code and Domestic Violence
In Alabama, domestic violence crimes can fall under first through third-degree offenses. They include crimes against one's intimate partner, spouse, former spouse, parent, step-parent, child, step-child, parent of a child in common, a household member, or someone they are dating.
First-degree offenses, which are Class A felony offenses, involve first-degree assault (such as strangulation or suffocation), aggravated stalking, willfully violating a protection order coupled with committing domestic violence, committing the offense in the presence of a child, or repeated convictions of a first-degree offense.
Second-degree domestic violence crimes in Alabama, Class B felonies, involve second-degree assault, intimidating a witness, stalking, offenses involving burglary or criminal mischief, violating a protection order coupled with second-degree domestic violence, or committing the offense in the presence of a child, with the victim being one of the relationships described above.
Third-degree domestic violence offenses in Alabama, Class A misdemeanors, involve committing a third-degree assault, menacing, recklessly endangering, coercing, harassing, surveilling, trespassing, or committing criminal mischief or arson against a family or household member or significant other or household member, as described earlier.
Alabama Protection from Abuse Orders
Alabama's Protection from Abuse Act (PFA) offers a victim and any relevant children or other family or household members protection from an abuser in the form of a Protection Order, also known as a Restraining Order.
Defying a Protection Order can result in being found in contempt of court and being charged with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a year in jail and fines of up to $2,000. Subsequent offenses garner steeper fines and additional jail time. As indicated above, violating a protective order in Alabama can result in the revocation or denial of one's nursing license. This applies to all individuals seeking to obtain or retain a nursing license in Alabama.
Protection orders bar a defendant from having contact with the petitioner. This could include a mandate to have no contact with them (including by phone, text, or email) and to stay away from their family, their friends, their residence, their place of employment, or other locations that they frequent. They can also include prohibiting the defendant from selling, hiding, or destroying personal or shared property. Violating a protective order is a big deal. In Alabama, protection orders can be temporary or final. Final protection orders offer additional provisions like ordering the defendant to pay child support, giving the petitioner possession of the residence or vehicle, or supervised visitation orders.
Don't make the mistake of assuming that things will be OK because you've heard it's illegal to deny someone employment based on criminal history. While there are laws prohibiting employers from discriminating based on one's arrest or conviction, there are important exceptions.
First, if the circumstances relate to the specific job type you're performing (in this case, caring for vulnerable people), you could be denied employment. Second, fair employment statutes don't protect you if you are not honest or forthcoming on a professional license application, such as omitting a criminal record when asked for it. That could cost you your license.
ABN's Investigative Process
If the Board of Nursing uncovers a domestic violence-related record in your past, they may offer you a Consent Order with stated Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, along with disciplinary action, such as a reprimand, probation, or license suspension.
If you refuse to adhere to the findings and conclusion, disciplinary proceedings will progress in Montgomery, including an Administrative Hearing in front of a hearing officer. This is your opportunity to be represented by strong legal counsel, who will respond to the ABN's attorney. The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm will prepare you to testify on your behalf, if appropriate, and will present your best defense. At this hearing, you have the opportunity to provide oral or written testimony as well as witnesses.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, the worst-case scenario is that the board revokes your nursing license and requires you to wait a year to apply for reinstatement. But you do have the opportunity to appeal within 30 days.
To qualify for reinstatement, you'll likely have to go through a Comprehensive Evaluation involving a family and social assessment, a process that usually costs you around $4,000.
VDAP
If you're wondering about the Voluntary Disciplinary Alternative Program (VDAP), it isn't applicable to domestic violence offenses. This program is specifically for nurses who are sanctioned because of an offense involving alcohol or other drugs and not criminal records pertaining to domestic violence.
Must I Disclose My Criminal Conviction to the Board of Nursing?
If you've been convicted of a crime in Alabama, including a crime related to a Protection Order or relationship or family violence, you are required to report this to the Alabama Board of Nursing. If this is your first time applying for a nursing license, the Board of Nursing will find your criminal history in your background check anyway.
Professional license applications are made under oath, so any concealments could be grounds for disqualification. You should be thorough in responding to all requested information. It's better to admit and explain information, no matter how embarrassing or shameful than to hide it or deny it.
Whatever your situation, it's important to talk with the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm today to make sure you're doing everything you can to save your career. Whether you are an RN, LPN, Advanced Practice Nurse, Student Nurse Apprentice, or Certified Medication Assistant (MAC) in Alabama, call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form.
To reiterate, nursing license application errors and omissions – unintentional or not – can cost you dearly. You need to seek legal help immediately before it's too late. We serve nurses from all around Alabama, including Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Dothan, and more.
The Lento Law Firm Can Protect Your License
The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm understands the importance of protecting your professional license, and we want to help you protect yours.
We know Alabama law, and we've represented professionals across the state and country, negotiating with state boards of nursing. To get started, contact the Lento Law Firm Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our online response form.
