39-8-203. Denial of license application or renewal -- hearing. (1) The department shall deny a license application or an application to renew a license if:

(a) the application is not fully completed or properly executed;

(b) documents required to supplement the application are not included in the application packet or are inadequate;

(c) the nonrefundable application or license fee is not submitted or is incorrectly submitted with the application packet;

(d) the applicant or any person named in the application misrepresents material in the application;

(e) the applicant is determined by the department to lack good moral character, business integrity, or financial responsibility; or

(f) the department determines that the applicant has failed to meet or maintain any requirement of this chapter.

(2) Conviction of a crime within the last 7 years does not automatically bar an applicant from obtaining a license or bar a licensee from renewing a license. The department shall consider the type of crime committed, the crime's relevancy to the employee leasing industry, the length of time since the conviction, and any other factor considered relevant by the department.

(3) The department or its agent shall furnish the applicant with a written statement of the reason or reasons for denying the license or license renewal application.

(4) An applicant or licensee may request a hearing before the department within 30 days after receiving the written denial statement. The hearing and appeal must follow the procedures provided in Title 2, chapter 4, parts 6 and 7.

(5) During the hearing and appeal process, a licensee may continue to operate unless the circumstances warrant the ordering of immediate cessation of operations. If the renewal application is rejected, the licensee shall cease operations within this state 30 days after receiving written notification. A licensee who does not comply with the department's order to cease is subject to the penalties provided in 39-8-302.

(6) The department may institute and maintain in the name of the state, through the attorney general or the county attorney of the county in which the violation of an order to cease occurs, an action for an injunction, order, or other civil remedy in district court to enforce its order.

(7) An applicant or licensee is ineligible to reapply for a license for 1 year following final department action denying the issuance of or renewal of a license. The 1-year restriction does not apply to an administrative denial or nonrenewal if the denial or nonrenewal was caused:

(a) by an inadvertent error or omission on the application;

(b) by experience that was insufficiently documented to the department at the time of the previous application;

(c) by a failure to submit the required fees; or

(d) when the applicant or licensee was determined to be ineligible because an individual no longer associated with the professional employer organization or group was determined to lack good moral character, business integrity, or financial responsibility.

History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 344, L. 1995.