Section 20-133 - Disciplinary action. GroundsThe board may take any of the actions set forth in section 19a-17 after notice and hearing, for any of the following reasons:
(1) Conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, either within or without this state, of any crime in the practice of optometry; (2) illegal or incompetent or negligent conduct in the practice of optometry; (3) publication or circulation of any fraudulent or misleading statement; (4) aiding or abetting the practice of optometry by an unlicensed person or a person whose license has been suspended or revoked; (5) presentation to the department of any diploma, license or certificate illegally or fraudulently obtained, or from an unrecognized or irregular institution or state board, or obtained by the practice of any fraud or deception; (6) violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted hereunder; (7) the effects of physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or loss of motor skill, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, upon the practitioner; (8) abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics or chemicals; (9) failure to maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice as required by section 20-133b; or (10) failure to provide information to the Department of Public Health required to complete a health care provider profile, as set forth in section 20-13j. The Commissioner of Public Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an investigation. Said commissioner may petition the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17. The license of any optometrist who peddles optical goods, or solicits orders therefor, from door to door, or who establishes a temporary office, may be revoked, and said department may refuse to renew such license. The license of any optometrist who employs solicitors or obtains money by fraud or misrepresentation in connection with the conduct of the profession of optometry shall be revoked, and said department shall not renew such license. The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by any unlicensed employee in the employ of an optometrist, with the knowledge of his employer, shall be deemed to be a violation thereof by his employer; and continued violation by such an unlicensed employee shall be deemed prima facie knowledge on the part of such employer. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as prohibiting the conducting of clinics or visual surveys when they are conducted without profit.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-133
(1949 Rev., S. 4493, 4494; P.A. 77-614, S. 412, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 49, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 33, 71; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4 -6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-133, S. 3; P.A. 08-109, S. 9.)
"Immoral, dishonorable or unprofessional conduct" means the person guilty of it is intellectually or morally incompetent to practice or has committed an act likely to jeopardize the interests of the public. 119 C. 679. Cited. 130 C. 345. Advertising may be regarded as unprofessional conduct. Id., 353. Cited. 141 Conn. 288. It is not unprofessional conduct for a licensed optometrist to practice his profession as an employee in charge of the optometrical department of a store; optometrist who manages the optometrical department of a store owned by a partnership may be violating section. 21 Conn.Supp. 332.