Title 43, Chapter 18, Section 46
( 43-18-46)
In addition to the authority provided in Code Section 43-1-19, the board may refuse to grant a license to operate a funeral establishment or to practice embalming or funeral directing, may refuse to grant a registration to serve as an apprentice, or may revoke, suspend, fine, or otherwise discipline a licensee or registrant upon any of the following grounds: (1) The employment of fraud or deception in applying for a license
or registration or in passing the examination provided for in this
article; (2) Issuance of a license or registration through error; (3) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude; (4) The practice of embalming or funeral directing under a false
name or the impersonation of another embalmer, funeral director,
or apprentice of a like or different name; (5) The making of a false statement or representation regarding
the qualifications, training, or experience of any applicant; (6) The making of a misrepresentation of any kind regarding any
funeral merchandise; (7) Directly or indirectly, by gifts or otherwise, committing the
offense of buying business or paying a commission or making gifts,
directly or indirectly, for the purpose of securing business to
any physician or hospital, or to any institution where death
occurs, or to any hospital superintendent, nurse, intern, or
employee of any hospital, nursing home, or other institution where
death occurs; or to any coroner or other government official; (8) Gross or willful malpractice or gross neglect in the practice
of embalming, funeral directing, or cremating; (9) Signing a death certificate as having embalmed or prepared a
body for burial or preservation when in fact someone else
performed such embalming or preparation; (10) Interfering, either directly or indirectly, with a licensed
embalmer or funeral director having legal charge of a dead human
body; (11) Using any statements that mislead or deceive the public
including, but not limited to, false or misleading statements
regarding a legal or cemetery requirement, funeral merchandise,
funeral services, or in the operation of a funeral establishment; (12) Failing to fulfill the terms of a funeral service contract; (13) Disregarding a decedent's dignity, right to privacy, or right
to confidentiality unless compelled by law to do otherwise; (14) Using profane, indecent, or obscene language in the presence
of a dead human body, or within the immediate hearing of the
family or relatives of a deceased, whose body has not yet been
interred or otherwise disposed;
(15) Failing to turn assigned benefits in excess of charges
incurred over to the assignee of the deceased within ten working
days of receipt of the assigned funds; (16) Refusing to surrender promptly the custody of a dead human
body upon the express order of the person lawfully entitled to the
custody; (17) Failing to have the charges rendered to be in compliance with
those listed in the funeral establishment general price list, the
casket price list, the outer burial container list, or the funeral
service contract price list; (18) Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to practice under
this article; (19) Promoting or participating in a burial society, burial
association, burial certificate plan, or burial membership plan; (20) Soliciting, as defined in paragraph (21) of Code Section 43-18-1; (21) Presenting a false certification of work done by an
apprentice or as an apprentice; (22) Willfully violating any state law or regulation; Federal
Trade Commission law or regulation; Occupational Safety and Health
Administration law or regulation; Department of Human Resources
law or regulation; Environmental Protection Agency law or
regulation; or municipal or county ordinance or regulation that
affects the handling, custody, care, or transportation of dead
human bodies, including, but not limited to, the disposal of
equipment, residual fluids, or medical wastes; (23) Knowingly making any misleading, deceptive, untrue, or
fraudulent representation in the practice of funeral directing or
embalming or in any document connected therewith; (24) Discriminating in the provision of services because of race,
creed, color, religion, gender, or national origin; (25) Failing to safeguard all personal properties that were
obtained from dead human remains and failing to dispose of same as
directed by a legally authorized person; (26) Failing to refund moneys due as a result of overpayment by an
insurance company or other third party; (27) Engaging in any unprofessional, immoral, unethical,
deceptive, or deleterious conduct or practice harmful to the
public, which conduct or practice materially affects the fitness
of the licensee or registrant to practice in the funeral business,
or is of a nature likely to jeopardize the interest of the general
public, which conduct or practice need not have resulted in actual
injury to any person or be directly related to the practice of
funeral directing or embalming but shows that the person has
committed any act or omission which is indicative of bad moral
character or untrustworthiness; unprofessional conduct shall also
include any departure from or failure to conform to the minimal
reasonable standards of acceptable and prevailing practice of
funeral services; (28) Engaging in any practice whereby a person who is both a
funeral director and a coroner or who is both a funeral director
and a minister presents that person as a funeral director to a
legally authorized person when death is imminent or after death
occurs prior to when the legally authorized person selects a
funeral director or funeral establishment which will handle the
dead human body; (29) Practicing embalming or funeral directing or operating a
funeral establishment or crematory prior to the board's having
approved an application for licensure; or (30) Failing to satisfy the funeral director in full and continuous charge requirements as set out in Code Section 43-18-71 or funeral establishment requirements as set out in Code Section 43-18-70. |