CLEAR

Texas veterinarian files federal suit over prohibition of online practice

A retired veterinarian from Texas has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state's prohibition of online practice. Ronald Hines has used his website to provide veterinary advice for the last decade, but last month the Texas veterinary board suspended Hines’ license for a year after finding that his internet practice violates state laws, which require the establishment of a “veterinarian-client-patient relationship,” while making clear that this cannot be achieved solely through the telephone or internet. Libertarian law firm the Institute for Justice, which is representing Mr. Hines, claims the rule infringes on free-speech rights and is an unreasonable restriction on the profession. It further claims the case could set a precedent in other fields employing telepractice such as law, psychology and financial advice.

Discuss the issue of telepractice on CLEAR's Discussion Forum

California law prohibiting gay "conversion therapy" challenged over free speech

California's law that would ban gay "conversion therapy", which was signed into law in the fall of 2012, is being challenged on free speech grounds. The bill, SB1172, "prohibit[s] a mental health provider... from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts...with a patient under 18 years of age." The bill was to have taken effect at the start of 2013, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put it on hold pending resolution of court cases about the law's constitutionality. At issue is whether the ban violates free speech and religious rights, and jeopardizes the livelihood of practicing therapists and counselors. California is the first state to have introduced such legislation.

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons proposes brief, opposing criminalization of language in medical reports

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has filed a motion for leave to file an amicus brief, which expresses grave concerns about the effect that the criminalization of language used in medical reports will have on the practice of medicine. The brief relates to the case of John Natale, M.D., of Chicago, a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon, who was convicted on two counts of making “false statements,” while also being acquitted by the jury of Medicare fraud. According to AAPS, "Natale routinely worked from 5:30 a.m. until late at night, and habitually was behind in dictating his operative reports. He incorrectly stated that he had used a bifurcation or Y-graft in repairing an abdominal aortic aneurysm, instead of the straight tube graft actually used. This made no difference in the billing, and there was no evidence that Natale “knowingly” and “willfully” made a false statement in order to violate the law." AAPS further contends "It is unprecedented to hold medically imprecise, disfavored, or even false statements in an operative report to be a crime in the absence of billing fraud, AAPS notes in the brief. To do so is a breathtaking expansion in government interference with medical practice, and the resultant chilling effect is detrimental both to efficiency and to the ability of physicians to speak freely about their own work.”

Court Decision Keeps Tax Preparer Licensing on Hold

The Internal Revenue Service has established efforts to implement requirements for mandatory testing and continuing education of all tax preparers in the United States.  The rules were part of the IRS’s first attempt at regulation of the tax return preparation industry through the Registered Tax Return Preparers program.  A March 27^th federal appeals court ruling upheld an injunction filed by a lower court against the implantation of the new standards.  The Institute for Justice, on behalf of professionals in the field, successfully contested the program on the grounds that the standards unduly affect the rights of tax preparers to earn a living and that the IRS does not have the authority to implement mandatory regulation of the profession.

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Deregulation bills in Connecticut and Missouri

Connecticut SB 324 would require the Commissioner of Consumer Protection to undertake a review of all occupational licenses and recommend elimination of those licenses that are not found to be necessary in the interest of public health or safety.
Bill text

Missouri HB 590 would amend licensing laws to allow individuals to engage in the practice of interior design, barbering or cosmetology without a license as long as they do not hold themselves out to be licensed or registered.
Bill text

Florida: teacher reprimanded for inappropriate use of technology

In a case concerning a Florida teacher, the use of the school's email system to promote his nomination to teacher of the year was deemed to by in violation of the School and District Technology Usage Policy.  The case also involved allegations, which were not upheld, of violating students' rights to privacy and confidentiality by disseminating students' handwritten letters via email.

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Orange County Florida Barbers Sue the County Sherriff’s Office over Raids

A group of barbers have filed a lawsuit against the Orange County, FL Sherriff’s Office over raids of 45 barber shops that were conducted in August, 2010.  The licensees contend that the raids, which were a joint effort between the Sherriff’s Office and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) in an effort to uncover unlicensed activity, were overly zealous, violated their rights and caused the shops to lose business.  The DBPR settled their portion of the suit and terminated employees involved in the controversial raids.       

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Court rules on just cause for termination of teacher

In a recent court case involving the Orange County (Florida) School Board, the court ruled that there was just cause to terminate a teacher's employment based on violations of the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education profession prescribed by State Board of Education rules.  The court ruled that the teacher's actions, via e-mail and in-person communication, were discourteous and harassing and violated the Code of Civility of the Orange County Management Directive.

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Doctors call for overturn of Federal Trade Commission ruling, citing risk to state regulation of medicine

Ahead of an appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled to begin this fall, doctors are warning that a failure to overturn a 2011 decision of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would put at risk the ability of states to regulate medicine, and pose a threat to public welfare. In July 2011, the FTC published an opinion that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners illegally restricted competition by preventing non-dentist providers of teeth whitening goods and services from selling their products to the public. As part of the opinion, the FTC stated that the board is not exempt from antitrust scrutiny given that its members are private professionals competing with others in the marketplace.

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Federal court strikes down Utah's hair braider licensing requirements

A federal judge has ruled that Utah's requirement that hair braiders secure a cosmetology license is unconstitutional. Ruling in favor of hair braider Jestina Clayton, Judge David Sam said ""Utah has irrationally squeezed ‘two professions into a single, identical mold’ by treating hair braiders — who perform a very distinct set of services — as if they were cosmetologists," continuing that "most of the cosmetology curriculum is irrelevant to hair braiding. Even the relevant parts are at best, minimally relevant." The judge also made clear that the litigant was not seeking the deregulation of cosmetology but rather that hair braiding should not be subject to the cosmetology licensing requirement.