Cal. Code Regs. tit. 16 § 4141

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 36, September 6, 2024

Section 4141 - Assessment of Administrative Fines

(a) Where citations include an assessment of an administrative fine, the fine shall be not less than $50 or exceed $5,000 for each violation. Each violation shall be classified according to the nature of the violation and shall indicate the classification on the face thereof as follows:

(1) Class "A" violations shall not be less than $1,001 nor more than $5,000. Class "A" violations are violations that the executive officer, or his or her designee, has determined involve a person who, while engaged in the practice of occupational therapy, has violated a statute or regulation relating to the Occupational Therapy Practice Act. Class "A" violations are more serious in nature and may include, but are not limited to, violations which resulted in or had significant potential for patient harm and where there is no evidence that revocation or other disciplinary action is required to ensure public safety. Such violations include, but are not limited to, failing to provide direct in-sight supervision of an aide when the aide performed a client related task that resulted in harm to the patient, or failing to provide adequate supervision to an occupational therapy assistant that resulted in harm to the patient, or fraudulent medical billing, or practicing without a current and active license for more than one year, or functioning autonomously as an occupational therapy assistant. A Class "A" violation may be issued to a person who has committed a class "B" violation who has had two or more prior, separate class "B" violations.

(2) Class "B" violations shall not be less than $501 nor more than $2,500. Class "B" violations are violations that the executive officer, or his or her designee, has determined involve a person who, while engaged in the practice of occupational therapy, has violated a statute or regulation relating to the Occupational Therapy Practice Act. Class "B" violations are less serious in nature and may include, but are not limited to, violations which could have resulted in patient harm. Typically some degree of mitigation will exist. Such violations include, but are not limited to, failing to provide direct in-sight supervision of an aide when the aide performed a client related task that did not result in harm to a patient, or failure to provide adequate supervision to an occupational therapy assistant, limited permit holder, student, or occupational therapy aid, resulting in no patient harm, or providing advanced practice services without board approval, or practicing when the license has been expired or inactive for a period of more than three months but less than one year, or supervising more occupational therapy assistants than allowed by law. A class "B" violation may be issued to a person who has committed a class "C" violation who has two or more prior, separate class "C" violations.

(3) Class "C" violations shall not be less than $50 nor more than $1,000. Class "C" violations are violations that the executive officer, or his or her designee, has determined involve a person who has violated a statute or regulation relating to the practice of occupational therapy. A class "C" violation is a minor or technical violation which is neither directly or potentially detrimental to patients nor potentially impacts their care. Such violations may include, but are not limited to, practicing when the license has been expired or inactive for a period of three months or less, failing to disclose a conviction or convictions in the application process, or failing to provide a patient or client or the guardian of a patient or client access to their medical records pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 123110. A class "C" violation may also be issued to a licensee holder who fails to respond to a written request by the board for additional information relating to a renewal application.

(4) Class "D" violations shall not be less than $50 nor more than $250. Class "D" violations occur when the executive officer, or his or her designee, has determined that an applicant or licensee has failed to provide a change of address within 30 days as required by Section 4102. A class "D" violation is a minor technical violation which is neither directly or potentially detrimental to patients nor potentially impacts their care.

(b) In determining the amount of an administrative fine, the executive officer, or his or her designee, shall consider the following factors:

(1) Gravity of the violation,

(2) History of previous violations involving the same or similar conduct,

(3) Length of time that has passed since the date of the violation,

(4) Consequences of the violation, including potential for patient harm,

(5) The good or bad faith exhibited by the cited individual,

(6) Evidence that the violation was willful,

(7) The extent to which the individual cooperated with the board's investigation,

(8) The extent to which the individual has remediated any knowledge and/or skills deficiencies,

(9) Any other mitigating or aggravating factors.

(c) In his or her discretion, the executive officer, or his or her designee, may issue an order of abatement without levying a fine for the first violation of any provision set forth in subsection (a).

(d) The executive officer, or his or her designee, may assess a fine which shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation if the violation involves fraudulent billing.

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 4141

1. New section filed 8-7-2002; operative 9-6-2002 (Register 2002, No. 32).
2. Amendment of subsections (a)-(a)(3) and new subsections (a)(4) and (c)-(e) filed 5-21-2008; operative 6-20-2008 (Register 2008, No. 21).
3. Amendment of subsections (a)-(a)(4), repealer of subsections (d)-(d)(4), subsection relettering and amendment of newly designated subsection (d) filed 7-20-2011; operative 8-19-2011 (Register 2011, No. 29).
4. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (a)(3)-(4) filed 6-25-2013 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2013, No. 26).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 125.9, 148 and 2570.20, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 125.9 and 148, Business and Professions Code.