Your job as a New Jersey occupational therapist is so important; you offer your clients the opportunity to live full lives. Your client's success is always at the forefront of your mind, and you would never do anything to harm them. When you have dedicated your professional life to helping others, it can be devastating to learn someone has turned against you and reported you for misconduct.
At the Lento Law Firm, we know how scary and stressful this time is. Our Professional License Defense Team is here to guide you through the process of fighting for your New Jersey occupational therapy license and rights. Don't go into the fight to keep your license alone; call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
Grounds for Disciplinary Action Against Your New Jersey Occupational Therapy License
Many behaviors can lead to disciplinary action against your New Jersey occupational therapy license. Even the smallest administrative mistakes can lead to an investigation into you and your license. Any violation of New Jersey's Occupational Therapy Licensing Act, occupational therapy regulations, Occupational Therapy Advisory Council guidance or policies, or relevant standards of care can threaten your license.
Common grounds for discipline against your New Jersey occupational therapy license include:
- Failing to disclose a criminal conviction on your occupational therapy license application
- Obtaining your occupational therapy license through fraud or misrepresentation
- Participating in acts of dishonesty, fraud, deception, misrepresentation, or false pretense
- Gross negligence, malpractice, or incompetence resulting in endangering the life or health of a client
- Repeated acts of simple negligence, malpractice, or incompetence while practicing
- Inappropriately altering client records
- Failing to disclose disciplinary action in another state
- Breach of patient confidentiality (HIPAA violations)
- Exploiting clients
- Having inappropriate relationships with clients
- Practicing outside the scope of the occupational therapy license
- Insurance fraud
- Practicing while impaired by drugs, alcohol, or other substances
- Conviction of or engaging in acts that are crimes of moral turpitude or those that would adversely impact their ability to practice occupational therapy
- Failure to comply with licensing regulations
At the Lento Law Firm, our Professional License Defense Team has represented clients facing all types of misconduct charges. Whatever you are being accused of, our New Jersey professional license defense attorneys can help. No misconduct accusation is too small to take seriously when your career and livelihood are on the line.
New Jersey Occupational Therapy License Disciplinary Action Process
Occupational therapists in New Jersey are licensed and regulated by the New Jersey Occupational Therapy Advisory Council ("Advisory Council"), which is housed within the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. When an occupational therapist in the state is accused of misconduct, the Advisory Council, with administrative support from the Division of Consumer Affairs, will be tasked with investigating and taking disciplinary action. The New Jersey Attorney General may also be involved in the case, depending on the nature and severity of the allegations.
While all cases are different, the disciplinary process for New Jersey occupational therapists generally looks like this.
Complaint
The Division of Consumer Affairs accepts complaints against healthcare professionals in New Jersey. Complaints against occupational therapists can come from various sources, including, but not limited to, government agencies, insurance fraud investigators, and clients. When the Division of Consumer Affairs receives a complaint about an occupational therapist licensed in the state, it will pass the complaint on to the Advisory Council.
Interim Suspension
In the most serious cases, the Advisory Council has the authority to take immediate but temporary action against your license after receiving a complaint. This comes in the form of an interim suspension. An interim suspension of your New Jersey occupational therapy license is only appropriate if you are demonstrating a palpable imminent danger to the public. An interim suspension can also be triggered when your occupational therapy license has been revoked or suspended in another state.
Investigation
When a complaint is deemed credible, the Advisory Council will thoroughly investigate the complaint. Whether you are trying to cover your mistake or are completely innocent, it's natural to feel defensive. You may even be so overwhelmed that you think that ignoring or minimizing interaction with the Advisory Council is the easiest or best option. At the Lento Law Firm, we know it is incredibly stressful to feel under attack, but you are legally obligated under New Jersey's Licensee Duty Cooperate Law to be cooperative and compliant with the Advisory Council's investigation. You can face disciplinary action for non-compliance in addition to any other charges against you. That being said, you should never speak or correspond with the Advisory Council without first contacting your Lento Law Firm attorney.
You should call the Lento Law Firm as soon as you receive notice of a complaint against you. To ensure you are compliant with New Jersey law, when the Advisory Council contacts you, tell them you will be or have retained a Lento Law Firm professional license defense attorney. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will immediately advise you on complying with the investigation while protecting your rights and interests.
What Do Investigations Look Like?
Investigations will involve collecting all relevant documentation for the case. This can be anything from employment records, client records, billing records, photos, videos, electronic correspondence, and more. Anything related to proving your guilt or innocence is fair game in an investigation. The Advisory Council's investigation will also involve interviews with you and other knowledgeable people about the alleged misconduct.
How Do I Demonstrate Compliance?
During the early stages of the investigative phase, the Advisory Council will ask you to respond to the complaint against you. You will have 21 days from receiving the request to respond to the complaint in writing. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will draft the response for you, make all necessary submissions to the Advisory Council, and prepare you for interviews.
Compliance with the investigation under the law may also include:
- Providing records, books, or documents prepared or maintained during your practice
- Attending investigative hearings
- Providing statements under oath as to the facts and circumstances of the allegations against you
- Surrendering evidence
- Undergoing skills assessment to determine your ability to practice occupational therapy reasonably and safely
Your Lento Law Firm attorney will always advise you on what you legally need to disclose or provide to the Advisory Council investigator, and everything you provide will go through your attorney. This means your rights are protected throughout the process. While the Advisory Council investigator may seem nice, their job is to protect the public, not you. The only person you can ensure is on your side is your Lento Law Firm attorney.
Formal Disciplinary Proceedings and Hearings
When a case has merit, the Advisory Board will send it to the Attorney General, beginning the formal disciplinary process. The Attorney General is charged with prosecuting the case; this simply means they are representing the state of New Jersey in the proceedings against you.
The formal disciplinary proceeding will include an administrative hearing. Two options for who will preside over the hearing are the Advisory Council or a New Jersey Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Regardless of who presides over the hearing, the hearing will look similar to a trial in that there will be opening statements, witness testimony, presentation of evidence, and attorneys from each side arguing their case.
Hearings have their own rules and procedures about what evidence can be submitted, what motions and documents must be submitted, and what the deadlines for filings and evidence are. All these rules can be very confusing.
If an attorney up to this point hasn't represented you, it would be incredibly unwise to continue without counsel. You have a legal right to be represented by an attorney, and you don't want to have a poor outcome in your case because you made a mistake relating to hearing procedures and policies. The Advisory Council and ALJs have a low tolerance for mistakes, even though the process can be confusing and overwhelming for occupational therapists who are accused.
If the Advisory Council hears your case, the members of the Advisory Council on your hearing panel will draft a finding of fact and conclusion of law, as well as the proposed penalties in your case. If your case is presided over by an ALJ, they will do this as well and then forward it to the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council has final decision-making power on sanctions. When the Advisory Council can approve or modify the ALJ's recommendation. You will be notified when a final decision on your case is made.
Negotiations and Consent Agreements
Our Professional License Defense Team attorneys have experience negotiating with the Advisory Council and reaching consent agreements for our clients. Consent agreements can be a good option for a few reasons. For starters, your Lento Law Firm attorney can negotiate the terms of an agreement that you feel comfortable with and satisfy the Advisory Council. Reaching a consent agreement can also reduce the length of the disciplinary process and potentially avoid the formal disciplinary process altogether.
If you haven't retained an attorney but are offered a consent agreement, you should be wary. When you accept a consent agreement, you are waiving your right to defend yourself in a hearing and appeal your case. You should always have a Lento Law Firm professional license defense attorney review the consent agreement before signing. We are there to make sure you are getting the best possible terms based on the specifics of your case, and the Advisory Council isn't pulling a fast one on you.
Determinations
The Advisory Council has many options when it comes to issuing sanctions against your New Jersey occupational therapy license. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will walk you through the most likely possibility in your case and negotiate for a lesser sanction if at all possible. The scope of sanctions includes:
- Reprimand
- Remedial education
- Practice supervision
- Community service or other prescribed measures
- Probation or license limitations
- Penalties
- Restitution
- Costs of investigation and prosecution
- License suspension
- License revocation
Appealing Your New Jersey Occupational Therapy Advisory Council Determination
Sometimes, the Advisory Council gets it wrong. You may be entitled to a disciplinary action appeal if they have made an error by violating your rights or imposing inappropriate sanctions in your case. Occupational Therapy License Advisory Council appeals are formal court proceedings and are filed with the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.
Even if you don't think you qualify for an appeal, it is worth discussing with your Lento Law Firm attorney. We can frequently get our New Jersey occupational therapist clients better outcomes on appeal.
National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Disciplinary Action
Getting your occupational therapy certification from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) was a requirement for your New Jersey occupational therapy license. If your certification is revoked due to misconduct, your New Jersey occupational therapy license will suffer the consequences. When you're accused of misconduct, you may be reported to NBCOT in addition to the Advisory Council.
NBCOT has the authority to conduct its own investigation into the complaint. The process for NBCOT disciplinary proceedings is similar to that of the Advisory Council; there will be an investigation, hearing, and determination. When NBCOT receives a complaint, it can take a few different actions:
- Dismiss the case due to insufficient evidence, lack of allegation severity, or other reasons it deems appropriate
- Decide not to pursue the case based on actions already taken by the New Jersey Occupational Therapy Advisory Council
- Notify the OT of proposed sanctions and the opportunity for a hearing
NBCOT can take similar actions against your certification as the Advisory Council can against your license. NBCOT sanctions can include the following:
- Temporary or permanent ineligibility for NCBOT certification
- Reprimand
- Censure
- Certification probation
- Certification suspension
- Certification revocation
Disciplinary action taken by the Advisory Board may also impact your ability to renew your NBCOT recertification.
Retain the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team Today
Don't gamble with your New Jersey occupational therapy license; get the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team on your side. Get started with our Professional License Defense Team today by calling us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
