§ 210. Unprofessional conduct

Unprofessional conduct means the following conduct and the conduct set forth in 3 V.S.A. § 129a:

(1) assisting the application for licensure of a person known by the licensee to be unqualified in respect to education, training, or experience;

(2) accepting compensation for services from more than one party on a project unless the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to by all interested parties;

(3) failing to disclose fully in writing to a client or employer the nature of any business association or direct or indirect financial interest substantial enough to influence the licensee's judgment in the performance of professional services;

(4) soliciting or accepting compensation from material or equipment suppliers in return for specifying or endorsing their products;

(5) rendering decisions favoring either party to a contract when acting as interpreter of building contract documents and judge of contract performance;

(6) failing to disclose compensation for making public statements on architectural questions;

(7) offering or making any payment or gift to an elected or appointed government official with the intent to influence the official's judgment in connection with a prospective or existing project in which the licensee is interested;

(8) offering or making any gifts of other than nominal value, including reasonable entertainment and hospitality, with the intent to influence the judgment of an existing or prospective client in connection with a project in which the licensee is interested;

(9) practicing or offering to practice beyond the scope permitted by law;

(10) knowingly designing a project in violation of applicable state and local building laws and regulations;

(11) accepting and performing responsibilities that the licensee knows or has reason to know that he or she is not competent to perform or undertaking to perform professional services in specific technical areas in which the licensee is not qualified by education, training, and experience;

(12) failing to practice with reasonable care and competence and to apply the technical knowledge and skill ordinarily applied by licensees practicing in the same locality;

(13) making any willful material misrepresentation with respect to the qualifications of or experience of an applicant or otherwise in the practice of the profession, whether by commission or omission;

(14) agreeing with any other person, as defined in 1 V.S.A. § 128, or subscribing to any code of ethics or organizational bylaws, when the intent or primary effect of that agreement, code, or bylaw is to restrict or limit the flow of information concerning alleged or suspected unprofessional conduct to the Board;

(15) failing to report to the Board knowledge of a violation of these rules by another licensee;

(16) failing to report to the public official charged with enforcement of applicable state or municipal building laws and regulations any decision taken by the licensee's employer or client, against the licensee's advice, which violates applicable state or municipal building laws and regulations and which will, in the licensee's judgment, materially affect adversely safety to the public or the finished project;

(17) acting, while serving as a Board member, in any way to contravene willfully the provisions of this chapter and thereby artificially restricting the entry of qualified persons into the profession;

(18) using the licensee's seal on drawings prepared by others not in the licensee's direct employ, or using the seal of another;

(19) inaccurately representing to a prospective or existing client or employer the licensee's qualifications and scope of responsibility for work for which the licensee claims credit;

(20) signing or sealing technical submissions unless they were prepared by or under the responsible control of the licensee; except that (A) the licensee may sign or seal those portions of the technical submissions that were prepared by or under the responsible control of persons who are licensed under this chapter if the licensee has reviewed and adopted in whole or in part such portions and has either coordinated their preparation or integrated them into his or her work, and (B) the licensee may sign or seal those portions of the technical submissions that are not required by this section to be prepared by or under the responsible control of a licensee if the licensee has reviewed and adopted in whole or in part such submissions and integrated them into his or her work. Reviewing, or reviewing and correcting, technical submissions after they have been prepared by others does not constitute the exercise of responsible control because the reviewer has neither control over nor detailed knowledge of the content of such submissions throughout their preparation. Any licensee signing and sealing technical submissions not prepared by that licensee but prepared under the licensee's responsible control by persons not regularly employed in the office where the licensee is resident shall maintain and make available to the Board upon request, for at least five years following such signing and sealing, adequate and complete records demonstrating the nature and extent of the licensee's control over and detailed knowledge of such technical submissions throughout their preparation;

(21) in each office maintained for preparation of drawings, specifications, reports, or other professional work, failing to have a licensee with direct knowledge and supervisory control of such work resident and regularly employed in that office. (Amended 1985, No. 248 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1997, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 33; 1999, No. 52, § 5b.)