Free Speech vs. Regulation of Professional Engineers
In Free Speech vs. Regulation of Professional Engineers, you'll learn ...
- The value of free speech in discovering the best solution to technical problems
- The difference between protected and unprotected speech
- An example in which the actions of a PE licensing board was limited by the Constitutional right of free speech
Overview
In the United States, state licensing boards have the right to regulate the activities of persons engaged in the practice of engineering. Engineers in the United States also have a right—the right of free speech defined by the First Amendment to the Constitution. What happens when these two rights conflict? Precisely this question arose in the State of Oregon recently. What follows is the story of what happened when an overzealous licensing board tried to prevent a determined but unlicensed engineer from speaking publicly about an engineering issue related to public safety.
This course discusses the relationship between the actions of a licensing board for professional engineers and the Constitutional right of free speech. It covers the background and findings of a legal case arising when a state licensing board attempted to restrict the right of an engineer from speaking about a public safety issue. Actual legal documents and associated correspondence are discussed, and their implications analyzed.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- The meaning of a board letter announcing the opening of an investigation
- The meaning and use of a Notice to Impose a Civil Penalty
- The significance of working outside the context of an employment or contractual relationship
Certificate of Completion
You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.
This course is applicable to professional engineers in: | ||
Alabama (P.E.) | Alaska (P.E.) | Arkansas (P.E.) |
Delaware (P.E.) | District of Columbia (P.E.) | Florida (P.E. Area of Practice) |
Georgia (P.E.) | Idaho (P.E.) | Illinois (P.E.) |
Illinois (S.E.) | Indiana (P.E.) | Iowa (P.E.) |
Kansas (P.E.) | Kentucky (P.E.) | Louisiana (P.E.) |
Maine (P.E.) | Maryland (P.E.) | Michigan (P.E.) |
Minnesota (P.E.) | Mississippi (P.E.) | Missouri (P.E.) |
Montana (P.E.) | Nebraska (P.E.) | Nevada (P.E.) |
New Hampshire (P.E.) | New Jersey (P.E.) | New Mexico (P.E.) |
New York (P.E.) | North Carolina (P.E.) | North Dakota (P.E.) |
Ohio (P.E. Self-Paced) | Oklahoma (P.E.) | Oregon (P.E.) |
Pennsylvania (P.E.) | South Carolina (P.E.) | South Dakota (P.E.) |
Tennessee (P.E.) | Texas (P.E.) | Utah (P.E.) |
Vermont (P.E.) | Virginia (P.E.) | West Virginia (P.E.) |
Wisconsin (P.E.) | Wyoming (P.E.) |