I am a Registered Sonographer (ultrasound) with the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers(ARDMS). In November someone sent the "Registry" a business card of mine that had a typo error on it. I have a part time business First Photo Fetal Imaging. At that time they notified me that they were launching an ethics code violation investigation on me due to the card error. I was able to sent back a response towards clarifying the error which I did and also sent a resume showing that I had done ultrasound for the last 30 years and the error that was on the card was shown to not be errorred on the resume, but correct credentials. I never heard back from them. This is aNational Registry which is posted online showing all their Registrants. In December I sent in my yearly dues and my check was cashed by the Registry. In December I was active status, but as of January 2012 I was removed from the online list of Registrants due to the "investigation". I am listed no where on line so any potential employers cannot find me as an "active" registered Sonographer. I was informed by several employers (from my resume) that they were contacted by the "registry" about my employment with them and what credentials I was using to work with and they were informed that I was under an ethical investigation- they was done WITHOUT my knowledge or permission. I have called several times over the past months to find out about the investigation, but it is still "on going" and my name is XXXXX XXXXX from the list of "active Registrants". I found some additional work and was hired and trained for 3 days when my newest Employer asked me for a current card for my Registry. I told them about the situation with the ethics investigation and they sent me home. I am not able to return until this investigation is finalized. I have been waiting for 6 months now to clear my name for a typo on a business card. I feel that my privacy was invaded by them contacting my employers asking questions about me, my character flawed by raising questions about my ethics and now I have lost wages presently and possible future. In February when I last called the "Registry" I told them I was searching for more employment and that when an employer were to look online at the list of Registrants I was nowhere to be found what should I tell them. I was told to tell them to call the Registry and they would tell them that I was still registered, but under an ethical investigation. GREAT!! A future or new employer doesn't want to hear that! I feel that since I paid my yearly dues and they cashed my check that I should have been left on the "active" status online while under the investigation until I was proven guilty. I thought that a person in the USA was innocent until proven quilty. Is there anything I can do.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Georgia Already Tried: Nothing because until yesterday when my new employer told me to leave because of this issue I had not lost any income.
Hello and thank you for using the JA website. Please remember that this site is intended to provide general legal information only. We cannot tell you what to do or not do. If, however, you have a legal question, I can assist you with that. To that end, what legal information are you seeking>
I am asking if I have any legal right to sue the ARDMS for invasion of privacy, defimation of character, and for lost wages for the actions they have taken that I feel unfair.
First, you have the right in this country to sue for anything. The question is whether or not there has been some law violated. There is no right to privacy that would prohibit an organization from calling your employers. Anyone is free to call your employers or former employers. With respect to defamation, if it is true that you are under investigation, you would have a hard time proving defamation since defamation requires that a party tell a third party a false statement of fact. Thus, if a true statement of fact is made to a third party, that would not be defamation. You cannot recover for lost wages unless you have a cause of action that would allow for that. In other words, if your argument was that the investigation was not a legitimate one, you could then file suit arguing that their investigation was fraudulent, for example. Please let me know if you need any clarification. Otherwise, please remember to hit the green ACCEPT button as that is the only way that we experts get compensated for our time, expertise, and research. We do not get paid by the website and so we rely on customers to honor the honor system and accept our responses so that we can continue to provide this service to people such as yourself. When leaving feedback, please also remember that we experts do not make the laws. We only report what the laws are and so please do not shoot the messenger.
Experience: Experienced attorney representing companies and individuals in employment law matters and litigation
Thanks for answering 2 of the issues. The other issue is that does the Registry have the right to cash my check for 2012 annual dues that would keep me Active within the Registry and then remove me from the Active list while under investigation
That would be a matter of your membership agreement with them. If their procedure is to remove active members while they are under investigation, then they would be allowed to do that.Please let me know if you need any clarification. Otherwise, please remember to hit the green ACCEPT button as that is the only way that we experts get compensated for our time, expertise, and research. We do not get paid by the website and so we rely on customers to honor the honor system and accept our responses so that we can continue to provide this service to people such as yourself. When leaving feedback, please also remember that we experts do not make the laws. We only report what the laws are and so please do not shoot the messenger.