Background
Jonathan Hart entered a 2017 informal settlement agreement and consent order with the Iowa Electrical Examining Board after charges concerning licensing and permitting violations. The agreement suspended his class “A” master electrician and electrical contractor licenses until he satisfied two conditions: obtaining final inspections for open permits and installing a compliant grounding conductor at a Wayne Community School softball complex. Hart waived a hearing and judicial-review rights as part of the agreement.
Hart did not complete either condition. In 2022, the Board brought new charges alleging that he performed work as an electrical contractor or master electrician while unlicensed. An administrative law judge found three charges proven, revoked Hart’s journeyman, master, and contractor licenses, and imposed a $750 civil penalty. The district court affirmed after judicial review, including following a remand that allowed Hart to submit additional evidence concerning the softball-complex work.
The Court’s Holding
The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed both district-court rulings and the Board’s decision. Hart’s argument that Iowa Code section 103.35 barred the Board from suspending his licenses for more than two years did not apply because his continuing suspension arose from the settlement agreement and consent order he voluntarily signed. Under that agreement, his licenses remained suspended until he completed the specified conditions, which he did not do.
The court also rejected Hart’s claim that the Board unreasonably prevented him from completing the softball-complex condition by requiring new conductors rather than reuse of existing ones. The Board reasonably relied on the state electrical inspector’s recommendation as to compliant work, and the fact that a later contractor completed the project differently did not alter Hart’s agreed-upon obligations. The agency neither acted arbitrarily nor abused its discretion.
Key Takeaways
- A licensee who agrees to conditions in a disciplinary consent order may be bound by a continuing suspension until those conditions are met.
- The statutory two-year limit on a Board-imposed suspension did not invalidate Hart’s agreed-upon conditional suspension.
- Courts defer to a licensing board’s reasonable technical judgments, including requirements for compliant electrical work.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces the enforceability of negotiated discipline in professional-licensing cases. A licensee cannot avoid a consent order’s reinstatement conditions by later characterizing the agreed suspension as an unauthorized indefinite sanction.
It also confirms that a licensing board may rely on technical safety recommendations when evaluating compliance, absent arbitrary action or an abuse of discretion.