NAC642.180. Procedure for disciplinary action.

     1. Any person may file an informal complaint with the Board concerning the acts of a licensee or services provided by a licensee. Such an informal complaint filed with the Board must be on a form provided by the Board and include information that is sufficiently detailed to enable the respondent to prepare a response.

     2. Upon receipt of an informal complaint, the staff shall examine the complaint to determine whether it:

     (a) Has been properly verified; and

     (b) Alleges sufficient facts to warrant further proceedings.

     3. If the staff determines that the informal complaint against a licensee has been properly verified and alleges sufficient facts to warrant further proceedings, the staff shall notify the respondent by sending a copy or summary of the informal complaint to the licensee by certified mail. The notification must set forth the potential violations of a provision of this chapter or chapter 451 or 452 of NAC or chapter 451, 452 or 642 of NRS arising in the informal complaint and request a response for the review by the Board before a hearing is set. The transmission of the copy or summary of the informal complaint will be deemed to be a notice of intended action pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 233B.127.

     4. Upon the receipt of a copy or summary of an informal complaint that has been filed against him, a licensee shall submit to the Board a written response to the informal complaint within 15 days after the date on which the informal complaint was served. A response to an informal complaint must respond to the allegations made in the informal complaint and be accompanied by all documentation that would be useful to the staff and legal counsel in their review of the allegations made in the informal complaint and the responses made by the licensee to those allegations. Failure by a licensee to cooperate with the Board during an investigation of an informal complaint, including, without limitation, failing to respond timely to the Board regarding a copy or summary of the informal complaint sent to the licensee by the staff pursuant to this subsection, is a ground for disciplinary action by the Board against the licensee.

     5. If a licensee fails to respond as required pursuant to subsection 4, he shall be deemed to have admitted the allegations in the informal complaint. Based on these admissions, the Board may impose appropriate discipline on the licensee at the hearing on the informal complaint.

     6. In cases where a response is filed as required pursuant to subsection 4, the staff shall review the informal complaint and the responses made thereto, may enlist the aid of a member of the Board or other qualified persons in the review and may take any other reasonable action necessary to further the review. After their review of the informal complaint and the responses made thereto, the staff may:

     (a) Investigate the allegations and employ such persons as they deem necessary to further the investigations;

     (b) Consult with experts in the appropriate field, including, without limitation, employing such persons for the purposes of an investigation or a hearing;

     (c) Investigate new leads and allegations that may come to their knowledge in the course of the investigation;

     (d) Enlist the aid of a member of the Board or other qualified person in the conduct of the investigation; and

     (e) Take any other reasonable action necessary to further the investigation.

     7. During an investigation of an informal complaint, the staff, or investigator, if any, may demand that a licensee produce his records or other evidence for inspection or copying, with or without prior notice to the licensee, and with or without a subpoena. A licensee shall not deny any such request for records or other evidence if such records or other evidence is not protected by a claim of confidentiality authorized by law. If a licensee refuses or fails to cooperate with a request for records in violation of this subsection, the Board may immediately suspend his license or certificate until the licensee complies with the request for records or other evidence. If the licensee continues to refuse or fail to cooperate with a request for records or other evidence in violation of this section, the Board may take such further disciplinary action against the licensee as the Board determines necessary.

     8. If the staff, or investigator, if any, determines that a specific record or other specific evidence is material to or necessary for an investigation, the staff or investigator may remove the record or evidence and provide a copy of the record or evidence to the respondent. If a record or other evidence can be readily copied at the location where the record or evidence is located, the staff or investigator shall make a copy of the record and evidence at that location. If a record or other evidence cannot be readily copied at the location where the record or evidence is located, the staff or investigator may remove the record or evidence from that location to copy the record or evidence. If the staff or investigator removes a record or other evidence to be copied, the staff or investigator shall provide the person to whom the record or evidence being removed belongs with a receipt for the record or evidence and, not later than 5 business days after the record or evidence is removed, provide a copy of the record or evidence to that person.

     9. When an investigation of an informal complaint is complete, the staff, and investigator, if any, shall determine whether substantial evidence exists to sustain the alleged violation of a statute or regulation set forth in the informal complaint. If the staff and investigator determine that no allegation of a violation of a statute or regulation set forth in the informal complaint can be sustained, the staff shall notify, in writing, the complainant and the respondent of this determination. If the staff and investigator determine that a violation of a statute or regulation as alleged in the informal complaint can be sustained, the staff and investigator shall inform the legal counsel of such a determination. The legal counsel shall:

     (a) Offer mediation to the respondent, a settlement agreement, stipulation of facts and liability or an informal hearing; or

     (b) Prepare a notice of hearing and a formal complaint.

     10. A notice of hearing and a formal complaint must:

     (a) Be a plain statement of the facts and applicable provisions of statutes and regulations regarding the alleged acts of the respondent alleged to be in violation of the statutes and regulations governing the profession of the licensee;

     (b) Include the date, time and place that the Board will hear the matter, if this information is known at the time when the notice of hearing and a formal complaint is sent to the respondent; and

     (c) Be signed by the legal counsel and, if a member of the Board was active in the investigation, by that member of the Board.

     11. The staff shall send, by certified mail, a notice of hearing and a formal complaint prepared pursuant to subsection 10 to the respondent named in the notice of hearing and the formal complaint.

     12. A respondent who receives a notice of hearing and a formal complaint shall file his answer to the notice of hearing and the formal complaint not later than 15 days after the date on which he received the notice of hearing and the formal complaint. An answer to a notice of hearing and a formal complaint filed by a respondent must include a response to each allegation and statement made in the notice of hearing and the formal complaint by either admitting to or denying the allegation or statement. If the licensee fails to file an answer as required pursuant to this subsection, he shall be deemed to have admitted each allegation and statement contained in the notice of hearing and the formal complaint. Based on these admissions, the Board may enter a finding and impose appropriate discipline on the licensee in the same manner as if the allegations had been proven by substantial evidence at a hearing of the Board held on the formal complaint.

     13. Not later than 10 days after the filing of the response by the respondent, the legal counsel and the respondent shall exchange a list of the evidence and witnesses that will be used at the hearing. A party may not present evidence it obtains after the date the exchange was required pursuant to this subsection unless it demonstrates to the Board that the evidence or witness was not available upon diligent investigation before the date the exchange was required and that the evidence or witness was given or communicated to the other party immediately after it was obtained.

     14. The Board may join two or more formal complaints into one formal complaint if:

     (a) The causes of action of each formal complaint are against the same person and deal with substantially the same or similar violations of statutes and regulations; and

     (b) The joining of the formal complaints will serve the best interest of the Board, complainant and respondent.

     15. A petition filed pursuant to NRS 642.500 will be processed pursuant to the provisions of this section.

     16. As used in this section:

     (a) “Legal counsel” means the legal counsel of the Board.

     (b) “Licensee” means a person licensed by the Board or holding a permit issued pursuant to the provisions of chapter 451, 452 or 642 of NRS.

     (c) “Staff” means the staff of the Board.

     (Added to NAC by Funeral Bd. by R043-02, eff. 11-26-2003)