Being a land surveyor, geologist, or engineer is an ethical profession requiring years of dedication, training, and education. Yet, even the most honorable professionals can be subject to discipline from the regulatory board. Dealing with possible discipline from the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) can be confusing and stressful since your license reputation, career, and livelihood might be at stake.

You want to defend your license if you face discipline. However, even that can feel overwhelming if you lack the appropriate guidance, so working closely with a skilled professional license defense lawyer is critical. At Kern County License Attorney, we know the intricate processes and laws that govern your profession and can offer the strategic defense strategy you require. We can also assist in ensuring that your legal rights are protected. Call us for an aggressive and confidential defense.

The Mission of BPELSG

The BPELSG, which falls under the regulation of the DCA (Department of Consumer Affairs), regulates land surveyors, geologists, and engineers in California. The board’s primary duties and purpose include:

  • Licensing persons (not companies) qualified to be professional engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and land surveyors, depending on their successfully passing exams and experience.
  • Drafting regulations and rules that govern engineers, land surveyors, and geologists and encouraging professional conduct
  • Informing the general public on utilizing professional land surveying and engineering services
  • Enforcing regulations and laws

Besides the above duties and responsibilities, the BPELSG also oversees disciplinary matters. The board enforces the engineering, geology, and land survey standards of practice. Should you be accused of misconduct, incompetence, or any other violation, the BPELSG will investigate and establish whether discipline is justified. This may range from compulsory education to revocation or suspension of your professional license.

The BPELSG is generally highly concerned with having ethical and competent professionals design structures in California. The following professions must be BPELSG-licensed:

  • Mechanical engineering
  • Structural engineering
  • Electrical engineering
  • Civil engineering
  • Soils/geotechnical/soils engineering
  • Land Surveying
  • Geology
  • Geophysics

To practice in the above professions, you must apply for a license with the BPELSG. Apart from the requirement to make particular disclosures, you also must prevail in a professional examination. After you obtain a license you will not be guaranteed to keep it. You must obey several ongoing compliance requirements to keep the license.

Note that the BPELSG exists to safeguard the general public's property and safety and uphold the industry’s high integrity and competence standards. That means it does not advocate for land surveyors, geologists, or engineers but for the clients and everyone else who will utilize the infrastructure these professionals develop or design. Therefore, if you land your professional license in trouble, the board will not be looking to protect you but rather to punish you.

Common Complaints Against Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists

Many actions can lead the BPELSG to commence a disciplinary process against a professional’s license. Whether it is an interpreted act, a mere comment, or an allegation of wrongdoing, you want to hire an experienced professional license defense lawyer at each step of the board’s disciplinary process. The most prevalent complaints brought against California land surveyors, geologists, and engineers that might result in disciplinary action include those involving:

  • Unlicensed practice or practicing beyond the scope of one's expertise or professional license
  • Alcohol or drug addiction or abuse, particularly if committed on the site
  • Failure to conduct project supervision or inspection to verify whether construction is as designed
  • Using another person's or an expired seal
  • Violation of the Business and Professions Code, Professional Engineers Act, and other relevant regulations and laws
  • Gross mistakes in the description or measurement of boundaries
  • Allowing unlicensed people to work under their supervision unlawfully
  • Breach of contract
  • Failure to finish a project they did already agree to and started
  • Various types of fraud
  • Ordinary negligence, incompetence, or gross negligence in duty performance
  • Misleading or false advertising
  • Failure to utilize a written contract
  • Ignoring board instructions
  • Plans or calculations that go contrary to the current codes
  • Insufficient sight investigation
  • Professional misconduct
  • A conviction of a crime substantially associated with the qualifications, duties, and functions of a land surveyor, engineer, or geologist
  • Not keeping the evidence of continuing education
  • Already facing disciplinary action by another state's licensing board

Engineer, Land Surveyor, and Geologist License Defense

Defending your professional license from possible disciplinary action by the board generally starts when any party files a complaint against you. Once the complaint is filed, the BPELSG will look at it to determine whether the allegations therein are worth pursuing. The board will then establish whether it has jurisdiction to deal with the case.

If the accusations carry weight and the board has jurisdiction, it will send the case to its investigating officers for a probe. The board will then send you a notice of investigation to inform you that it is pursuing your case. One of the investigating officers may contact you for an interview or further interrogation.

If the board investigator reaches out to you regarding the complaint filed against you, politely inform them that you must first talk to your legal counsel before talking to them. You must cooperate with the board, as failure to do that can result in severe disciplinary action. But even as you cooperate, avoid risking incriminating yourself deliberately or unnecessarily lessening your options for defense by speaking to the BPELSG without obtaining expert legal counsel first.

Numerous complaints will generally be dismissed as lacking adequate evidence to pursue or unsubstantiated. Others might be dismissed because they do not fall under the BPELSG’s proper jurisdiction.

The board will prioritize those complaints it intends to prove based on the order they came in and how severe and urgent those allegations are to the general public's safety. If the allegation you face is severe, the board might issue an interim suspension order during the investigations. Your attorney should help you fight this immediately because investigations could take months to years to complete, and it is not in your interest to stop practicing for that amount of time during the investigations.

You want to contact a lawyer right after the board notifies you of the investigation. The sooner you take action, the better your odds will be. Your attorney can respond to the notice of investigation by immediately filing a Notice of Defense. After filing the Notice of Defense, they will start figuring out what defenses will help your case.

In many instances, your lawyer can have the board dismiss the case or obtain a favorable settlement before the case reaches the administrative hearing stage. However, if the case goes to trial, your lawyer can present various defenses to counter the testimony, evidence, and arguments against you. They can also present mitigating circumstances in favor of your case to lessen the disciplinary a room the board intends to impose. Common defenses your lawyer can raise include the following:

  • Negligent supervision—your lawyer can shift the blame to the supervisors who neglected to provide appropriate oversight.
  • Insufficient evidence—your lawyer may successfully argue that the board does not have enough evidence to pursue disciplinary action. In that case, the board may be forced to drop the charges against you.
  • No violation happened—your lawyer can present valid explanations proving you never actually violated licensing laws, rules, or regulations but were acting reasonably. Rigorously refuting the accusations and submitting exonerating evidence may defeat the allegations in the complaint.
  • Lack of jurisdiction—In some instances, the BPELSG might overstep its boundaries and pursue complaints it should not have. Your attorney can assert that the board lacked jurisdiction over specific circumstances or conduct of the supposed violation. If the lawyer presents sufficient evidence on this argument, the board will have no option but to drop the case.
  • Disproportionality—when presenting this defense, your lawyer can argue that the proposed disciplinary action is excessive for the violation.

Some of the mitigating circumstances your lawyer can present to help lessen the disciplinary action against you are:

  • You willingly reported the violation in good faith.
  • You have already taken steps to fix your mistakes.
  • The violation was not intentional.
  • No one was hurt due to your conduct.
  • You recognize you made a mistake.
  • You do not have prior disciplinary or criminal history. 

If disciplinary action cannot be prevented, the following are the potential types of disciplinary actions the board may impose:

  • The board can impose a letter of reprimand, a fine, restitution costs, or a citation for not-so-serious violations. Your lawyer can successfully fight to lower the fine or prevent the reprimand or citation from going on your record.
  • License revocation or suspension—a suspension of your professional license temporarily prohibits you from practicing. It only lasts a specific period. A revocation, on the other hand, is indefinite.
  • The board can order you to adhere to continuing education requirements.
  • License probation—the board can place your license on probation. That means your practice will be restricted, and you will practice under conditions and supervision. The board can impose the license probation sentence as an independent discipline, or if your license is subject to revocation, your attorney can negotiate for a stay of revocation with probation instead of revocation, which would at least allow you to continue practicing, but with particular requirements and conditions attached.
  • Criminal prosecution—in certain instances, the attorney general’s office may file criminal charges against you to add to the existing administrative penalties.

Petition to Reduce Penalties or Reinstate License

If the BPELSG has suspended or revoked your professional license, it does not mean you can never practice your career. Once a specified period has elapsed, you can petition the board to reinstate the license. Also, you could request that the board modify the terms and conditions of your probation sentence or terminate the sentence early. Your attorney can submit evidence of rehabilitation and mitigating circumstances to the BPELSG, which might assist in reinstating your license.

One essential point to remember about professional license defense is that you have the right to due process. The board cannot impose any discipline that could ruin your professional reputation without letting you exercise your rights and give your account of events. Should you fail to solve your case with the board, you could demand a proceeding with the administrative law judge, where the board must prove its case. Should you lose at the hearing, you could appeal the case with a superior court to challenge the findings.

Appealing the Board’s or ALJ’s Decision

If the ALJ or board has decided that you should face disciplinary action and are discontent with the decision or the form of discipline imposed, you can demand judicial review. You could request this review by submitting a writ of mandate petition to the Superior Court. The petition seeks the court to review and, if possible, overturn the ALJ’s or board’s decision.

Note that the superior court does not hear the case afresh or consider the evidence. It will only review the proceedings presided over by the ALJ to determine whether the judge or any involved party committed procedural mistakes.

Should you believe the board or ALJ committed an error during the proceedings, bringing a writ of mandamus can offer relief. Should the Superior Court reverse the board’s or judge’s decision, the case will be returned to the ALJ or board with specified instructions from the Superior Court. If you are not content with the outcome of the superior court, you can file an appeal with the California Court of Appeals. If you are still discontent with the outcome of the appellate court, you can move to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision is final, as it is the highest court.

Find an Experienced Engineer and Land Survey License Defense Attorney Near Me

At Kern County License Attorney, we are devoted to assisting clients subject to serious legal and administrative problems. Defending a professional license requires an in-depth understanding of board regulations and California laws, and our lawyers are conversant with effective techniques for resolving them. If you face possible suspension or loss of your engineer, land survey, or geologist license, we can advise and provide you with efficient ways to assist in resolving your problem.

As your skilled license defense attorneys, we will be devoted to providing you with the necessary counsel, resources, and information to help you successfully navigate the BPELSG disciplinary process. Call us at 805-702-8560 for a consultation and case evaluation.