The Expanding Definition of Moral Turpitude: Violations That Jeopardize Your Professional License
Earning any kind of professional license requires not only specific expertise related to your profession, but also adherence to the laws and regulations governing that license. For any profession, whether medical, educational, trade, or service-related, those regulations include certain moral and ethical standards. Violation of those standards can threaten your license.
Among the misconduct that can put your professional license at risk, accusations of moral turpitude can bring serious consequences. But these violations are often subjective and may be completely unrelated to your practice. This means that the board or agency that oversees your license can pursue disciplinary action against you even if you’ve done nothing to hinder your ability to do your job.
If you’re facing accusations of moral turpitude and your license is in jeopardy, you need a legal team on your side that can protect your rights and defend your license. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm has years of experience defending licensed professionals and working with governing boards to minimize the consequences to professional careers. Call us at 888-535-3686 or complete our confidential contact form to schedule a consultation and get started.
What is Moral Turpitude?
Moral turpitude refers to behaviors that go against accepted moral standards. For licensed professionals, violations of moral turpitude can include fraud, dishonesty, or sexual offenses. When you earned your license, you surely learned all the behaviors that fall under the category of misconduct for your profession.
But behaviors that qualify as moral turpitude are often more subjective than they are black and white, and governing bodies are classifying more and more actions as moral turpitude. These agencies often consider violations as “unprofessional conduct” even if they have nothing to do with your profession. If you commit an offense outside of your job that your regulatory board considers immoral, unethical, or a threat to public safety, you could find yourself in big trouble.
So, what does all this mean for your license, and what can you do to steer clear of license suspension, revocation, or other sanctions that affect your career? If you learn that someone has filed a formal complaint against you—whether it’s a patient, a parent of one of your students, or a client who has enlisted your services—you need to take immediate action to defend your license and protect your professional future.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Help Safeguard Your License
If you’re facing accusations of moral turpitude, whether you know you’ve messed up or you think the allegations are false or exaggerated, you need to take the situation very seriously and do all you can to protect your license.
The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm can help you navigate the disciplinary process. We can communicate with the licensing board on your behalf, help you gather the best evidence to support your defense, represent you at a hearing, and manage any appeals for you. We’re your best option to help you safeguard your livelihood and your future.
Don’t fall prey to the many ways that the vagaries of moral turpitude can work against you. You need a legal team that will make sure the licensing board adheres to the strict letter of the law and doesn’t take advantage of the subjectivity of moral turpitude to inflict disproportionate penalties on your license. Call the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or complete our confidential contact form to learn more.