2022 Delaware Code
Title 24 - Professions and Occupations
Chapter 28. PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
§ 2823. Grounds for discipline; appeals.
(a) Applicants, adjunct and affiliate members, and any person licensed under this chapter shall be subject to disciplinary penalties set forth in § 2824(c) of this title, if, after a hearing, the person is found to violate any of the following:
(1) The practice of any fraud or deceit in the attempt to obtain any authorization to practice engineering in this State;
(2) Any gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct in the practice of engineering;
(3) Violation of the code of ethics promulgated by the Council;
(4) A crime that is substantially related to the practice of engineering;
(5) a. An activity resulting in discipline by another jurisdiction, state, territory, or possession of the United States, foreign country, the District of Columbia, the United States government, or any other governmental agency, if at least 1 of the grounds for discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to those contained in this section;
b. The voluntary surrendering of an engineering license in order to avoid disciplinary action by another jurisdiction, state, territory, or possession of the United States, foreign country, the District of Columbia, the United States government, or any other governmental agency, if at least 1 of the grounds for discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to those contained in this section.
(6) The failure to report instances of out-of-state discipline, as set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, to the Executive Director of the Delaware Association of Professional Engineers within 60 days of the final order imposing discipline;
(7) Aiding or abetting another person in violating any provision of this chapter;
(8) Signing, affixing the licensee's seal, or permitting the licensee's seal or signature to be affixed to any specification, report, drawing, plan, plat, design information, construction document, or calculation, or revision thereof, that has not been prepared by the licensee or those under the licensee's responsible charge; or
(9) Failure to comply with and satisfy the continuing professional competency guidelines and requirements.
(b) The Council shall have the power to review the actions of any applicants sitting for any examination that is conducted by, or on behalf of, the Association to determine the applicant's qualification for licensure as a professional engineer or certification as an engineer intern.
(1) The following actions by an examinee shall be considered violations of this chapter:
a. Any attempt to remove, or removal of, examination materials or content from the room in which the examination is administered;
b. Any attempt to reproduce, transcribe or transmit the content of examination materials that would permit the removal of such content from the room in which the examination is administered;
c. Any use or possession of unlawfully obtained information that reveals, or is procured by the examinee with the anticipation that it could reveal, any portion of the content of the current examination;
d. Any communication, whether verbal, written, electronic, or by action, made in an effort to seek assistance from another party, that would aid in obtaining a higher grade for the examination during an examination administration, or to provide such assistance to another examinee.
e. Any impersonation, or solicitation of impersonation, that allows another individual to sit for the examination in place of the designated applicant; or
f. Any violation of the terms of any examination security agreement entered into freely by the examinee with the Association outlining the examinee's responsibilities in taking the examination.
(2) The chief proctor for the examination, acting on behalf of the Council, may at the chief proctor's sole discretion, when presented with evidence of any violation under paragraph (b)(1) of this section above at any time during the examination administration period:
a. Collect any examination materials provided to the examinee;
b. Collect any personal property belonging to the examinee, which the proctor reasonably believes may contain content from the examination materials;
c. Dismiss the examinee from the examination site; and
d. Seek any law-enforcement assistance that the chief proctor feels is necessary to affect paragraphs a. through c. above of this paragraph (b)(2) of this section.
(3) Following its review of the facts associated with any alleged examination impropriety, Council shall have the power to impose any or all of the following penalties on any individual found guilty after a hearing, unless such hearing is waived by the examinee, of an examination impropriety:
a. Void the results of the subject examination;
b. Refuse permission for the examinee to take the examination for a period of 2 years, or such time determined by Council to be required to ensure that a subsequent examination is unlikely to repeat questions contained in the subject examination;
c. Require successful completion by the examinee of an ethics course before a future examination opportunity;
d. Revoke any license as a professional engineer or certification as an engineer intern granted as a consequence of the examinee receiving a passing score on the subject examination; and
e. Report any disciplinary action taken to other jurisdictions to help ensure the integrity of their examination process.
(c) The Council, after receipt of a complaint in accordance with § 2824(c) of this title associated with the practice of engineering in Delaware, shall have the power to review the actions and representations of individuals, corporations or partnerships not authorized by this chapter to engage in the practice of engineering in Delaware. Upon notice, hearing and review afforded by subchapters III and V of the Administrative Procedures Act, Chapter 101 of Title 29, the Council may issue a cease and desist order to an individual, corporation or partnership found to be engaged in the unauthorized practice of engineering, notwithstanding that the individual's, corporation's or partnership's license has lapsed, expired or has been suspended or revoked.
(d) Subject to notice, hearing and review afforded by subchapters III and V of the Administrative Procedures Act, Chapter 101 of Title 29, the Council may fine any person who violates a cease and desist order not less than $100 or more than $1000. Each day a violation continues may be deemed a separate offense in the Council's discretion.
(e) When disciplinary action requires the successful completion of additional training or education courses, Council shall determine the conditions of the additional training or education courses on a case-by-case basis, including, but not limited to, the type and number of hours of training or education. All training or education courses shall be related to the engineering profession and must be approved by Council.
(f) Any individual, corporation or partnership aggrieved by any disciplinary decision by Council may appeal such decision to the Superior Court. The appeal shall be filed within 30 days of the day the notice of the decision was mailed. The appeal shall be on the record without a trial de novo. If the Court determines that the record is insufficient for its review, it shall remand the case to the Council for further proceedings on the record. The Court, when factual determinations are at issue, shall take due account of the experience and specialized competence of the Council and of the purposes of the Delaware Professional Engineers' Act under which Council has acted. The Court's review, in the absence of actual fraud, shall be limited to determination of whether the Council's decision was supported by substantial evidence on the record before it.
(g) When an action is brought in the Court for review of a Council decision, enforcement of such decision may be stayed by the Court only if it finds, upon a preliminary hearing, that the issues and facts presented for review are substantial and the stay is required to prevent irreparable harm.
(h) No appeal for relief of the Court shall be considered as having been taken or made until it has been filed with the Prothonotary and served upon the Council in accordance with the rules of the Court.
24 Del. C. 1953, § 2823; 58 Del. Laws, c. 501, § 1; 61 Del. Laws, c. 467, § 13; 69 Del. Laws, c. 412, § 5; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 51, §§ 1, 2; 74 Del. Laws, c. 267, § 1; 75 Del. Laws, c. 93, § 2; 75 Del. Laws, c. 304, §§ 5, 6; 76 Del. Laws, c. 245, § 3; 76 Del. Laws, c. 291, §§ 12, 13; 78 Del. Laws, c. 162, § 4; 79 Del. Laws, c. 112, § 1; 81 Del. Laws, c. 193, § 5;
