South Dakota Administrative Rules › Title 20 - PUBLIC SAFETY › Article 20:38 - Board of Technical Professions › Chapter 20:38:36 - Rules of professional conduct › Section 20:38:36:01 - Professional conduct

Current through Register Vol. 51, page 10, July 15, 2024
To establish and maintain a high standard of integrity,
				  skill, and practice in the professions and to safeguard the life, health,
				  safety, welfare, and property of the public, the following rules of
				  professional conduct are binding upon each person holding a license and on all
				  business entities authorized to offer or perform professional services under
				  this article. Noncompliance with any of the rules of professional conduct can
				  result in disciplinary actions. Licensees shall comply with the following rules
				  of professional conduct:
(1) Licensees
				shall maintain interest in the public welfare and be ready to apply their
				special knowledge, skill, and training for the use and benefit of the
				public;
(2) Licensees shall be
				cognizant that their first and foremost responsibility is to the public welfare
				in the performance of services to clients and employers;
(3) Licensees may not associate with or allow
				the use of their name in connection with any enterprise, person, or firm of
				questionable character such as engaging in fraudulent or dishonest business or
				professional practices;
(4)
				Licensees shall carry on professional work in a spirit of fairness to all
				concerned, fidelity to clients and employers, and loyalty to country and shall
				be devoted to high ideals of courtesy and personal honor;
(5) Licensees shall act with reasonable care
				and competence and shall apply the technical knowledge and skill which are
				ordinarily applied by other professionals of good standing who are practicing
				in this state;
(6) Licensees shall
				regard as confidential any information obtained about the business affairs and
				technical methods or processes of a client or employer;
(7) Professionals shall accurately represent
				to a prospective or existing client or employer their qualifications and the
				scope of their responsibility in connection with work for which they are
				claiming credit;
(8) Licensees
				shall inform a client or employer of any business connections, interests, or
				affiliations that might influence their judgment or impair the disinterested
				quality of their services. If the client or employer objects to such business
				connection, interest or affiliation, the licensee shall either terminate the
				business connection, interest or affiliation, or offer to give up the
				employment;
(9) Licensees shall
				accept financial or other compensation for a particular service from one source
				only unless there is full disclosure and the consent of all interested
				parties;
(10) Licensees shall
				comply with the licensure laws and rules governing their professional practice
				in any United States jurisdiction;
(11) Licensees shall approve and seal only
				those documents and submissions that conform to accepted architectural,
				engineering, landscape architectural, land surveying, or petroleum release
				standards and safeguard the life, health, safety, welfare, and property of the
				public;
(12) Licensees shall
				confine professional services to the profession and technical field in which
				they are licensed and competently qualified;
(13) Licensees shall undertake to perform
				professional services only when they, together with those whom they may engage
				as consultants, are qualified by education, training, and experience in the
				specific technical areas involved. If a question arises about the competence of
				a licensee to perform an assignment in a specific technical field which cannot
				be otherwise resolved to the board's satisfaction, the board may require the
				licensee to submit to an examination in the technical field as specified by the
				board;
(14) Licensees may not seal
				plans or other documents for the preparation of which they were not in direct
				responsible charge or that deal with subject matter in which they lack
				competence;
(15) Licensees may not
				directly or indirectly use or make use of for their own benefit any property,
				facility, or services of their client or employer unless prior authority is
				obtained;
(16) Licensees shall
				cooperate with architectural, engineering, landscape architecture, land
				surveying, and petroleum release agencies in advancing those
				professions;
(17) Licensees may not
				engage in any discriminatory practices prohibited by law in the employment of
				personnel and in the conduct of business;
(18) Licensees may not solicit or accept
				compensation from material or equipment suppliers for specifying their
				products;
(19) Licensees may not
				solicit or accept compensation, directly or indirectly, from contractors, their
				agents, or other parties not under contract in connection with work for clients
				or employers for which they are responsible;
(20) Licensees may not offer to pay, directly
				or indirectly, a commission, political contribution, gift, or other
				compensation in order to secure work, exclusive of payment made to an
				employment agency for its services;
(21) Licensees shall take into account all
				applicable state and municipal laws, ordinances, and regulations and may not
				knowingly execute a project in violation of them;
(22) In the course of work on a project, if a
				licensee becomes aware of an action taken by the client or employer against the
				licensee's advice, which violates applicable state or municipal laws and
				regulations and which will, in the licensee's judgment, adversely affect the
				life, health, safety, welfare and property of the public, the licensee shall
				take the following actions:
(a) Advise the
				client or employer in writing of the licensee's refusal to consent to the
				decision and give reasons for that refusal;
(b) If the licensee's advice is ignored
				despite the objection, terminate the licensee's services to the project;
				and
(c) Provide a copy of the
				licensee's objection and reasoning to the public official charged with the
				enforcement of the applicable state or municipal laws and
				regulations;