New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY › Chapter 44K - OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ADVISORY COUNCIL › Subchapter 8 - GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF LICENSEES › Section 13:44K-8.5 - Sexual misconduct

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Client" means any person who is the recipient of occupational therapy evaluation, instruction, treatment, or consultation rendered by a licensee.
"Client-therapist relationship" means a relationship between an occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, or temporarily licensed occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, and the client wherein the licensee owes a continuing duty to the client to render occupational therapy services consistent with his or her training and experience.
"Licensee" means any person licensed to engage in practice as an occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant or temporarily licensed occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in the State of New Jersey.
"Sexual contact" means the knowing touching of a person's body directly or through clothing, where the circumstances surrounding the touching would be construed by a reasonable person to be motivated by the licensee's own prurient interest or for sexual arousal or gratification. "Sexual contact" includes, but is not limited to, the imposition of a part of the licensee's body upon a part of the client's body, sexual penetration, or the insertion or imposition of any object or any part of a licensee or client's body into or near the genital, anal or other opening of the other person's body. "Sexual contact" does not include the touching of a client's body which is necessary during the performance of a generally accepted and recognized occupational therapy procedure.
"Sexual harassment" means solicitation of any sexual act, physical advances, or verbal or non-verbal conduct that is sexual in nature, and which occurs in connection with a licensee's activities or role as a provider of occupational therapy services, and that either: is unwelcome, is offensive to a reasonable person, or creates a hostile workplace environment, and the licensee knows, should know, or is told this; or is sufficiently severe or intense to be abusive to a reasonable person in that context. "Sexual harassment" may consist of a single extreme or severe act or of multiple acts and may include, but is not limited to, conduct of a licensee with a client, co-worker, employee, student or supervisee whether or not such individual is in a subordinate position to the licensee. "Sexual harassment" may also include conduct of a nonsexual nature if it is based on the sex of an individual.
"Spouse" means the husband, wife, civil union partner or fiancee of the licensee or an individual involved in a long-term committed relationship with the licensee. For purposes of the definition of "spouse," a long-term committed relationship means a relationship, which is at least six months in duration.
(b) A licensee shall not engage in sexual contact with a client or immediate family member or guardian of a client with whom he or she has a client-therapist relationship. The client-therapist relationship is ongoing for purposes of this section, unless:
1. Occupational therapy is terminated by way of written notice to the client and is documented in the client record; and
2. The last occupational therapy was rendered more than six months ago.