Professionals working in the field of air conditioning and refrigeration in the state of Texas must gain their license to do so from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) in order to be considered certified technicians.
TDLR’s Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program was created to regulate contractors hired to install, maintain, or repair refrigeration, air conditioning, or heating. This does not mean that TDLR is there to represent these practitioners. In fact, it is very much the reverse: TDLR’s function is to protect the public. This means that the State Legislature determined that the citizens of Texas were placed in a lower position of relative power that made them likely to be abused by certain people in the profession operating in a manner that was exploitative or abusive.
Unfortunately, this also means that, when TDLR receives a formal complaint about an ACR certified technician, it is likely to take an aggressively prosecutorial stance. Many are the ACR certified technicians who have felt receiving the notice of complaint and the coming investigation as an onslaught that puts their career in a precarious position.
And they aren’t wrong to do so. They could very well lose their license if the complaint is serious enough.
When TDLR receives a formal complaint against an ACR certified technician, staff members there analyze it to determine whether that complaint falls within Department jurisdiction, and, if so, whether the allegations made in it, if true, would constitute a violation of the standards and rules that a certified technician must follow. If it affirms both of these, then it launches an investigation. At this point it also informs the technician about the complaint and permits that practitioner to make a response to the complaint.
The way a certified technician responds to this request can set the stage for the entire investigation to follow. The scope of these investigations has a way of spreading when the investigators are up against a concerned professional who doesn’t know how to properly handle the process.
So if you are served with notice of a complaint, you should contact an experienced professional license defense attorney, like us here at BERTOLINO LLP, as soon as possible. The more time we have to craft a response, the better. And the earlier in the process we are involved, the more likely you are to achieve a positive outcome—including a possible dismissal of the complaint. This is our specialty—and we all know how much knowledge a specialty requires. But we can’t help if you don’t contact us.
With offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we represent medical professionals across the entire State of Texas. Our honest, experienced attorneys will fight aggressively on behalf of your license and reputation.
Contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
Call or text (512) 476-5757 or complete a Case Evaluation form
