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Potential Hire Claimed a PE license but verification showed it had lapsed 5

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djcbgn

djcbgn

Civil/Environmental
Feb 14, 2004
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Hi,
We have a position open for an engineer although a PE license is preferred but not required. A person applied and on his resume it showed PE licensure in two states and on the general application he answered YES when asked if they possessed a PE License. Upon further review, the persons licensure in both states lapsed about 10 years ago, so he is not currently licensed as a PE in either state.

I believe these false statements will disqualify him for consideration for this position. Anyone have any input?

Thank you!

 
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People have lost job offers for less egregious lying on job applications.

Nevertheless, when was the last time they went through an interview process? If it was prior to the licensure lapse, that might just be bad vetting of a dusty old resume, although one might see poor attention to detail as an issue in a job rife with details.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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Past tense - possessed

Current tense - possess

What did the question ACTUALLY say?

You could easily become confused by that wording and think you were answering a different question.

If the question instead asked "do you possess a current PE licence' and they answered yes, that's a straightforward lie. But if they could reasonably think that the question was "had you ever possessed a PE licence" then the result becomes a lot greyer....

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
 
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Thank you all for the responses.

LittleInch - The questions was "Do you have a professional engineer (PE) license?

There also was a section in the application process where they were asked to list "Licenses and Certifications". The engineering licenses were listed here.

I am trying to give the person the benefit of the doubt, that maybe this was an oversight, but it just isnt leading to this conclusion.
 
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The questions miss the crucial word "current".

So yes he has a PE licence, it's just not current. Is reactivating it just a matter of paying some money or does it lapse if you don't?

PE stuff is a mystery to me so I'm just looking at it like a lawyer could....



Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
 
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I'm with LittleInch here, the question is structured in such a way that it is open to interpretation, and I think the applicant could argue that without the term "current", that they may have met the intent of the question by previously having a license, even if it has lapsed due to not paying dues to renew.

I think there is more to this question, however. Why was the question structured as "Do you have a professional engineer (PE) license", rather than "Do you have an active or current professional engineer license in the State of Georgia, or are you able to apply for reciprocity to the State of Georgia within xxx months of hire?". I don't know how being licensed in say the state of Maryland, or the state of Wyoming, would be helpful to the request as shown by the OP here.

The next question is: what steps would be required for this applicant to have an active license? Would they have to simply pay a nominal fee, or would they be required to pay for the 10 years of lapse licensing to make their license current? What about continuing education, would they need 150+ continuing credit hours to reinstate their license to make up for the lapsed time? Ethic requirements may be needed as well.

All these are questions I think the OP should follow up with the applicant during the interview process.
 
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If a PE licensed has lapsed, you do not have a professional engineer license. I don't think there is any interpretation at all in that question.

I think reinstatement of lapsed licenses vary by state. I let mine lapse in Wyoming years ago because we had other engineers licensed in there. A few years later I called to see what it took to reinstate, and they basically said to submit another application and get another license (new PE # and all). There was no "re-activating" it. If I was asked if I had a professional engineer license in Wyoming and I answered yes that'd be a lie.

Personally, an engineer with 10+ years' experience that does not have an active PE license would raise red flags to me. Not saying I wouldn't hire this person, but I'd definitely evaluate closely.
 
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I am going to agree with Rabbit12. The applicant specifically stated they are a "Licensed Professional Engineer in State x and y", where the person let these licenses lapse so therefore they are not licensed in these States. I go along with what Florida Statutes say here:

"No person other than a duly licensed engineer shall practice engineering or use the name or title of “licensed engineer,” “professional engineer,” or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviations, or device tending to indicate that such person holds an active license as an engineer in this state.

Thanks all for the input.
 
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You can have a PE license with a status of "Inactive" in several states. I never understood the reason for such a status. I have let 3 state licenses lapse, since I'm no longer engaged in those markets.
 
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This is getting into semantics, but the FAQ page of the New York State Office for the Professions says:
NYSOFP said:
When an individual successfully completes the licensure requirements they are awarded a professional license. The license is valid for life unless it is surrendered or revoked following disciplinary action by the Board of Regents.

Professional engineers and land surveyors in New York must register with the State Education Department every three years to practice their profession, pursuant to Commissioner's Regulations part 59.8.
Click to expand...

So, in NY, he could say yes, he was a licensed engineer. You didn't ask if his registration was current. On the other hand, I wouldn't look favorably on that sort of rules-lawyering in a new hire.


My glass has a v/c ratio of 0.5

Maybe the tyranny of Murphy is the penalty for hubris. -
 
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TigerGuy - I hold a Canadian PENg license that is 'on hold' or 'Non practicing' or something like that because I live and work in NZ now and am licensed here. I keep it like that because it's easier to reactivate and there's the potential to return home, or that one of the multinationals ends up asking me to use it to work on projects back home or leverage it to get licensed in another province. Well, that and when I left I was sort of only planning on being away a year or two and then COVID happened and now 6 years later I'm still here.

Going back to OP it seems like a slam-dunk 'no' unless he has some really good explanation and is valuable. I once worked with someone with 40 years experience that just didn't want the anxiety of stamping things. But was valuable in other ways.
 
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Unless he lies to a binary inquiry on this score, you have nothing to stand on as an assessment tool.

Binary inquiry would be, "Are you currently licensed to practice in XX state?"
Answer would be "No."

It also squares with his application. He has licenses. They probably hang on his wall. Whether they can be resurrected in the moment of need is an open question, so you can't yet hold that against him.

Be direct; don't expend energy divining internal thoughts or motives. Ask him outright what you need to know with specificity.
 
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