APA calls for removal of mental health questions on applications to practice law
The American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) governing Council of Representatives unanimously approved a policy pledging to work alongside the American Bar Association and state bar associations to remove questions regarding mental health diagnoses or treatment history from character and fitness questionnaires.
“[S]tatistical data reveal that there is no connection between bar application questions about mental health and attorney misconduct and that such questions have not been empirically shown to work as a successful screening tool for who can and cannot practice law in a competent manner,” the resolution stated.
Currently, 37 states and the District of Columbia include one or more questions on their character and fitness questionnaire referencing the mental health status of applicants. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has recommended removing applicant questions about diagnoses as they tend “to screen out individuals with disabilities based on stereotypes and assumptions about their disabilities and are not necessary to assess the applicants’ fitness to practice law.” Read more in the APA’s press release.
Evers signs bill related to occupational licensing while vetoing two others
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers recently signed one bill relating to the state’s occupational licensing system while vetoing two others. All three bills were directed at the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), which administers Wisconsin’s occupational licensing program.
The bill he signed (AB-203) clarifies when a credential is considered to have been renewed, what is required for a renewal application to be deemed complete, and ensures that the license of an applicant who has submitted a completed renewal application remains valid while the application is processed.
The two bills Evers vetoed were introduced following Republican criticism of backlogged licensing applications at DSPS, which the agency said was due to understaffing and the failure of Republican lawmakers to authorize more personnel. If enacted, AB-200 would have required DSPS to report statistics related to license applications and renewals and AB-201 would have forced the agency to post application data on its website. Read more in the Wisconsin Examiner.
Demand is high from immigrant professionals looking to become licensed in Utah
Inquiries from immigrants seeking professional licenses in Utah have skyrocketed since the state passed two pieces of legislation (SB35 and SB43) that allow for new pathways to licensure for foreigners.
The Department of Commerce, which oversees most of the state’s licensing, has received over 2,600 responses since May from foreign-licensed professionals who are interested in becoming licensed in Utah. According to Executive Director Margaret Busse, physicians and surgeons make up 37% of the inquiries the department has received, followed by dentists at 15%, professional engineers at 10%, and registered nurses at 9.5%. Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador, and Peru were the most common countries of origin for applicants.
But most immigrants are still far from receiving a license as the Department of Commerce works on defining licensing pathways for hundreds of professions, a challenging undertaking which involves looking at licensing requirements of individual foreign countries to determine equivalency.
While Busse didn’t have a timeline for when specific licenses would be approved, she said the department is prioritizing requests from those who live in Utah, as well as for several professions that are experiencing labor shortages, such as nursing. Read more on KSL.com.
Manitoba government announces new incentives that will benefit 25,000 health care workers
Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon recently announced $70 million in new incentives under the province’s Health Human Resource Action Plan, an initiative aimed at health care worker recruitment and retention that was introduced in November 2022.
The announcement extends several benefits already in place for nurses and allied health staff to the 25,000 community and facility support workers employed in Manitoba’s health care system. Gordon noted that these workers represent one of the largest employee groups in Manitoba’s health workforce.
According to the government’s press release, the incentives include:
- Wellness incentive: In addition to current health spending account allowances already in place, the government will provide a one-time increase for each support employee’s health spending account of $500 for full-time employees and $250 for part-time employees.
- Licensure reimbursement: Eligible employees will be reimbursed for professional license or association membership fees in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 licensure years.
- Weekend premium: Employees working hours on weekends will receive an $8.00 premium for eligible worked hours.
White House launches AI-based contest to secure government systems from hacks
To bolster the nation’s cyber defenses in the face of increasing misuse of technology by hackers and other bad actors, the White House announced it has launched a multimillion-dollar cyber contest that will spur use of artificial intelligence to find and fix security flaws in U.S. government infrastructure.
As generative AI tools become more powerful and widely available, governments around the world are concerned about their potential for misuse by bad actors, who can use them for malicious purposes like identifying vulnerabilities to exploit, creating phishing emails, writing malicious computer code, conducting mass hacking campaigns, and spreading misinformation on social media.
The two-year contest includes around $20 million in rewards and will be led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is in charge of creating technologies for national security. Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Anthropic, Microsoft (MSFT.O), and OpenAI will all make their systems available for the challenge. According to the government, the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), a U.S. group of experts trying to improve open source software security, will be in charge of ensuring the “winning software code is put to use right away.” Read more from Reuters.
More news:
- The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) are launching an innovative pilot program in partnership with Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement aimed at easing the pathway to CPA licensure. The Experience, Learn & Earn (ELE) program was developed to offer a less costly and more flexible way for college accounting graduates to complete the 150-hour course credit requirement to become licensed CPAs.
- New legislation in Illinois (HB 2365) will provide an alternative pathway to licensure for clinical social workers who failed the initial Association of Social Work Boards’ licensing exam. The new law – which is the first of its kind in the nation and goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024 – is expected to increase diversity in the field and help address the state’s shortage of social workers.
- Ontario’s labor ministry is moving forward with a plan to regulate heat stress under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and is asking the public for feedback on whether it should add outdoor air quality to the list of hazards it regulates under the law. The proposal requires employers to implement procedures to limit exposure to heat, train workers to notice signs and symptoms, and take steps to protect themselves.
- Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) announced a recent vote by the state’s Dentistry Examining Board that eliminates a redundant, post-graduate examination requirement. The change is expected to speed up the licensing process for young dentists hoping to join Wisconsin’s workforce.
Also noteworthy:
Interesting opinion, commentary, and analysis from the web:
- Dalphon: Licensure compact eases health profession’s ability to help patients (Daily State News)
- INVISION asked ECPs their thoughts on professional licensing and the future of refraction (INVISION)
- In the long fight to deregulate natural hair braiding, one Olney salon owner scores a win (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- The anatomy of a cyberattack (Cointelegraph)
- Key takeaways from President Williams’s interview with the New York Times (New York Times)
- The U.S. is scrambling to regulate AI without a comprehensive plan (Lexology)
Disclaimer: The thoughts, opinions, and commentary of the articles we share links to in Week in Brief do not necessarily reflect those of Ascend Magazine or Thentia.
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