Okla. Admin. Code § 675:3-1-3

Current through Vol. 42, No. 6, December 2, 2024

Section 675:3-1-3 - Complaint procedure

(a)Receiving complaints. The Board shall receive citizen complaints against licensees through the mail or in person at the Board office. Only written citizen complaints shall be accepted for consideration, unless extenuating circumstances exist. The written citizen complaint may be anonymous as long as it contains detailed information sufficient to independently verify the allegations made. Upon receipt of the citizen complaint, the Board staff shall:

(1) stamp all pages with a Board stamp which indicates the date of receipt,

(2) review the citizen complaint to determine if the person against whom the complaint is made is a current licensee,

(3) generate a letter to the complainant indicating receipt and review of the citizen complaint by Board officials (if applicable),

(4) log the citizen complaint by assigning a number consisting of the year and sequence number in which it was received, record the date received, name of complainant (if provided), and the name and license number of the licensee,

(5) place the citizen complaint in a pending file,

(6) notify the members of the Complaint Committee of receipt of a citizen complaint by providing a copy to each member.

(b)Reviewing complaints. Upon notification that a complaint has been received, the Complaint Committee shall review the contents to determine whether or not the allegation constitutes a possible violation of the Code of Professional Conduct. If the allegation does not indicate a possible violation of this code, the Complaint Committee shall instruct the Board staff to generate a letter to the complainant thanking them for their concern and advising them that the complaint does not fall within the purview of the Board. If the allegation does indicate a possible violation of this code, the Complaint Committee shall make the following determination:

(1) The alleged violation appears to be one which would not, if found to be valid, result in a denial, revocation or suspension of a license, but one which does indicate the need for Board review and possible informal action.

(2) The alleged violation appears to be one which could, if found to be valid, result in a denial, revocation or suspension of a license.

(c)Allegations, if substantiated, not appearing to result in a denial, revocation or suspension of a license. If an alleged violation appears to be one which would not result in a denial of renewal, revocation or suspension of a license, the chair or chair's designee shall proceed with addressing the allegation by reviewing the complaint with the Attorney General liaison for the Board. Upon the consent of the chair or chair's designee and the advice of the Attorney General liaison the chair or chair's designee shall proceed by:

(1) Notification of the licensee by certified mail that a citizen complaint has been received, outlining the nature of the complaint.

(2) Forwarding to the licensee a copy of the informal process for addressing citizen complaints, which requires:

(A) a prompt letter to the Board from the licensee responding to the merits of the complaint;

(B) an informal interview with the Board to fully explore the issues involved in the complaint;

(C) an agreement by the Board and the licensee on the merits of the complaint;

(D) a proposed Consent Decree for disciplinary action for the licensee, approved by the Board and signed by the licensee and the chair or chair's designee, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

(i) a letter of education instructing the licensee to correct the aspect of practice in question;

(ii) a tutorial assigned to the licensee to remedy the practice in question, under the supervision of a Board Approved Supervisor assigned by the Board, with the wishes and needs of the licensee taken into consideration; or

(iii) a letter of censure reprimanding the licensee for the practice in question;

(E) a review of the course of action in a specified time, not longer than six months, to determine whether or not remediation has taken place; and

(F) a letter to the licensee indicating that the informal process has ended; or,

(3) Referral to the formal investigation process when:

(A) the licensee fails to respond to the certified letter from the Board;

(B) the informal process reveals new or expanded allegations that indicate the possibility of a denial, revocation or suspension of a license;

(C) the licensee fails to meet the requirements of Consent Decree without good cause.

(4) A Consent Decree entered into pursuant to this subsection that is agreed to by the Board and the licensee shall not be considered a disciplinary action and will not appear on the Board's website or be reported to a national databank.

(d)Allegations, if substantiated, appearing to result in a denial, revocation or suspension of a license. If an alleged violation appears to be one which would result in a denial of renewal, revocation or suspension of a license, the Complaint Committee shall proceed with addressing the complaint by the process detailed below based upon agreement of a majority of its members:

(1) Contacting an investigator designated by the Board as qualified to address the nature of the complaint.

(2) Providing the designated investigator with names and addresses of the complainant, if available, and the licensee.

(3) Issuing a letter of intent that specifies:

(A) the intended parameters of the investigation;

(B) the individuals to be interviewed;

(C) the contract fee and travel reimbursement, as allowed by statute;

(D) the time frame for completing the investigation.

(4) Indicating whether or not the licensee should be interviewed by the contract investigator, in reference to:

(A) advice by the Attorney General liaison not to do so in order to reserve the interview with the licensee in a setting under oath;

(B) the possibility of a criminal investigation being conducted concurrently or subsequently to the Board investigation.

(5) Submitting the investigative report to the Complaint Committee for review and recommendation to the Board concerning proposed action to be taken concerning the complaint.

(6) Placing the complaint on the agenda for the next Board meeting for report on the status of the complaint and possible action by the Board. Possible actions by the Board would include:

(A) a dismissal of the complaint due to lack of evidence of a code violation;

(B) a referral to the informal process due to a finding that the results of the investigation reveal code violations, but not ones that would result in the need for denial, revocation or suspension;

(C) a decision to hold a hearing as provided for in Section 675:3-1-4 of this Chapter;

(D) a Consent Decree that is agreed to by the Board and the licensee.

(i) A Consent Decree that is entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be considered a disciplinary action and shall appear on the Board's website and shall be reported to the appropriate national databank(s).

(ii) A Consent Decree pursuant to this subsection may be recommended to the Board as a possible action of the Board at any stage in the complaint process detailed in this subsection.

Okla. Admin. Code § 675:3-1-3

Added at 21 Ok Reg 251, eff 11-14-03 (emergency); Added at 21 Ok Reg 1813, eff 7-1-04; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 2018, eff 6-26-08; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1729, eff 7-26-12