The Second Location and the Unlicensed Embalmer
Denise owns a licensed funeral establishment in Grand Rapids and holds a Michigan funeral director license, but not an embalmer license. In March she opened a second location 18 miles away in a converted retail building. The second location has a visitation room and a garage that Denise converted into an embalming room with a portable table and a hand-held hose. Denise did not apply for a separate establishment license for the second location and did not designate a funeral director in charge there. Over 10 days, an unlicensed employee, Kyle, embalmed three decedents after Denise's only licensed embalmer called in sick. Kyle had completed a mortuary science course but had not taken the licensing exam. One family complained that the decedent's features were distorted and asked for the embalming records. Denise told them that Kyle 'is basically an embalmer.'
1. Identify the licensing and practice violations apparent in this setup under Michigan's Mortuary Science Code and explain why each matters.
Read the worked answer
Several distinct violations appear:
- Practice by an unlicensed person. Michigan limits embalming to a person holding a Michigan embalmer license, or a properly registered trainee under board rules. Kyle's completed course is not a license. Denise's statement that he 'is basically an embalmer' is misleading and aggravates the violation.
- Establishment licensing. A funeral establishment license is location-specific. The second location needed its own license before use; operating a satellite without one is unlicensed establishment activity.
- Funeral director in charge. An establishment must have a licensed funeral director responsible for management. Denise cannot leave the second location without a designated responsible licensee.
- Embalming room standards. A garage with a portable table and hand-held hose does not meet the Code's requirements for a sanitary, dedicated embalming room. The family's complaint about distorted features also triggers record-retention and quality-of-care issues. Each violation is separate; the Bureau can pursue them together in one administrative complaint.
2. What must Denise do to bring the second location and her staff into compliance before accepting another decedent there?
Read the worked answer
Before another decedent is accepted at the second location, Denise should:
- Stop all embalming there immediately. Move decedents only under proper care and with documentation.
- Apply for a separate funeral establishment license for the second location and pay the required fee.
- Designate herself or another Michigan-licensed funeral director as the funeral director in charge, with written acceptance.
- Either contract with a licensed embalmer for all embalming or bring the room into compliance with the Code: dedicated space, sanitary surfaces, proper ventilation, plumbing, equipment, and privacy.
- Remove Kyle from embalming. He may perform only non-licensed tasks, such as transfers and clerical work, until licensed; if a trainee program applies, register him and ensure direct supervision by a licensed embalmer.
- Correct the family's record and provide the embalming records they requested; do not repeat the 'basically an embalmer' characterization. The order matters: stop the unlawful practice first, then fix licensing, then the physical plant.
3. What disciplinary exposure does Denise face, and what factors would the Bureau likely weigh?
Read the worked answer
The Bureau would likely open a complaint, investigate, and file an administrative complaint. The core allegations are unlicensed practice, unlicensed establishment operation, and misleading a consumer. Potential sanctions include reprimand, probation with conditions, suspension, revocation, and civil fines; the Bureau may also seek restitution or corrective action. Aggravating factors include three embalmings by an unlicensed person, an unlicensed second location, a misleading statement to a grieving family, and possible record deficiencies. Mitigating factors include no prior discipline, cooperation, prompt remediation, and the fact Denise is licensed as a funeral director. The sick-embalmer excuse does not create an emergency exception; the lawful response was to decline or transfer the embalming. A key judgment point is that Denise's own funeral director license does not authorize embalming or excuse the establishment license requirement.