The NC Board of Architecture and the NC Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (as well as other Boards, including the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors) have grievance procedures in which anyone – client or not—can file a grievance against you. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Boards have seen it all before, and if the grievance is someone unhappy about a bill, or using the process to harass you for unfounded reasons, they will recognize those complaints for what they are.
HOWEVER, this does not mean that you should treat any grievance, no matter how unfounded, lightly. The first thing you need to do is contact your insurance broker/agent and report the matter. Often times, your insurance carrier will hire an attorney (someone like me) to defend you free of charge (at least up to a certain dollar amount). This is part of your insurance coverage, and you should take full advantage of it.
What if you do not have professional errors & omissions insurance? First, get thee to an agent asap and get yourself some for any future issues. Second, hire a lawyer anyhow. You could do it yourself if you choose to do so (although “a Man who is his own lawyer has a Fool for a Client” ). But whatever you do, do not ignore the Board’s inquiry. Respond by the deadline they give you, with all details and information that they ask for. Sit down for an interview with the Board investigator. Do not bury your head in the sand and hope it will all go away on its own.
And no, most cases do not result in loss of your professional license. There are some egregious cases where the license is in jeopardy, but those are few and far between.
I have helped clients with Board grievances survive the process. As I have told them, a Board grievance is never good news, but it doesn’t have to break you. Use your available resources to minimize any negative outcome.
Photo: Cristian Lopez Credit: Printerval CC by NC 4.0
Good checklist, and most of it applies on the trade side of the job too. Electricians, plumbers and HVAC techs answer to a board the same way an engineer does, and the part people miss is that a complaint follows you: most states’ reciprocity applications ask whether you’ve ever been disciplined, so a billing dispute that got reported in one state becomes a question you answer in the next one. We run a job board for traveling trades workers, and we keep a dated, state-by-state list of which board licenses each trade in every state and whose card it will honor, because the hands who travel for work cross those lines a few times a year. “Do not ignore the Board’s inquiry” is the best line in the piece.