What Happens to Your Professional License After Arrest or Indictment
- Healthcare Fraud, Professional License Attorneys
Health professionals, lawyers, accountants, brokers, and other licensed professionals often wonder what will happen to their professional licenses if they are arrested or indicted for a federal crime.
What happens to your license will largely depend on the circumstances involved, including:
- The offense,
- Whether you operate under a professional license, and
- Whether you were merely arrested or were indicted.
Healthcare attorneys can provide individuals with assistance in understanding the potential outcome in their specific case; however, here are some general observations.
The Language of Your Professional License May Result in Suspension or Revocation in the Event of an Arrest or Indictment
Your professional license agreement will most likely include language about the effect of a criminal conviction. Usually, it will mirror the professional misconduct language of state law. The effect of an arrest under your professional license agreement is slightly more complicated.
Some licenses expressly provide for suspension or revocation in the event of mere arrests, whereas some licenses tie suspension or revocation to convictions. Your professional license will outline your rights and obligations.
Being indicted, however, does not, in and of itself, qualify for immediate suspension or revocation of your license. However, even in license agreements that provide for immediate suspension or revocation, there may still be further conditions to satisfy, which depend on the circumstances or specific times during the criminal proceedings.
Cooperation and Voluntary Disclosure Policies
Your professional license will expressly provide whether you are required to disclose your indictment, whether a discipline or suspension is appropriate, and the process for requesting a stay of discipline or suspension pending the outcome of your case. A healthcare attorney can offer you more personalized and tailored guidance here.
Some professionals are under the care of other third parties, which could also impact the individuals’ professional obligations following an arrest or indictment. For instance, if you are a medical professional or healthcare provider and are under the care of a medical group, hospital, or other entity, you may have additional obligations to disclosure to these third parties. While in many instances disclosure to third-party entities are not required, you should still consult with a healthcare attorney regarding what you are required to disclose.
Some professionals subject to arrest or indictment can benefit from their voluntary disclosure, including:
- Physicians,
- Nurses,
- Pharmacists,
- Pharmacies,
- Dentists, and
- Other healthcare providers.
Recently, these healthcare providers have been taking advantage of self-disclosures for potential violations in an attempt to avoid possible exclusion actions, and other penalties.
Federal providers can also request assistance within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General’s Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol if the situation applies.
A prosecutor’s office may also have an attorney or coordinator that is assigned to these types of cases, which you should seek out. A health care attorney is your best source of advice regarding what to say and how to prepare for these types of situations.
Federal Agencies May Adopt Clarifications for Certain Professionals
Recently, some federal agencies, including for example the Board of Professional Engineers, have been clarifying their procedures for handling situations where professionals have been arrested, indicted, or convicted.
These clarifications have been expanded to the summary suspension processes for certain professionals by including the implementing of an interim order provision that facilitates the placement of a licensure on a temporary basis for a health care provider when the individual is arrested for certain offenses involving harm to others. A specific example is when a criminal allegation or pending indictment relates to sexual misconduct associated with medical practice.
This interim order provision allows the prosecutor’s office to say his or her piece at the beginning of the hearing so that the hearing does not only involve the licensee and the licensee’s attorney. The prosecutor’s piece includes statements about why the individual is not fit to practice in his or her profession as well as why there is a compelling need to protect individuals from future harm if the licensee is allowed to continue working in that profession.
You may also request the “interim order committee” to stay your interim order while the components are handling the criminal allegation or indictment. The interim order committee will look at the facts of your situation. The grounds for such a stay are found in the professional licensure designations for specific professionals.
These recent clarifications by federal agencies have helped to eliminate the uncertainty and/or confusion by replacing such with more transparency, due process, and openness.
