Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) Definitions. As
used in this Rule:
(1) "Licensee" shall mean
a person licensed by the Board as a funeral service, funeral director, or
embalmer.
(2) "Real-time
communication" shall mean any in-person, live telephone, or real-time
electronic contact.
(3) "Solicit"
shall mean engaging in the act of solicitation.
(4) "Solicitation," shall mean any uninvited,
intentional contact with an individual for the purpose of procuring the right
to provide funeral services or merchandise, either immediately or at a future
date when financial gain is a significant motive.
(b) All licensees of the Board must comply
with the following in order to avoid committing solicitation as prohibited by
G.S.
90-210.25(e)(1)d:
(1) A licensee of the Board shall not solicit
professional employment from a prospective customer by real-time communication
when a significant motive for the licensee's doing so is the licensee's
pecuniary gain, unless the person contacted:
(A) is a licensee; or
(B) has a family, close personal, or prior
professional relationship with the licensee.
(2) A licensee shall not solicit professional
employment from a prospective customer by real-time communication or by
written, recorded or electronic communication that is not a real-time
communication even when allowed by Parts (b)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(B) of this Rule
if:
(A) the prospective customer has made
known to the licensee a desire not to be solicited by the licensee;
or
(B) the solicitation involves
coercion, duress, harassment, compulsion, intimidation, or threats.
(3) Every written, recorded or
electronic communication that is not a real-time communication from a licensee
soliciting professional employment from a prospective customer known to be in
need of funeral services for an imminent or recent death shall include the
words "This is an advertisement for funeral services" on the outside envelope,
if a written communication sent by mail, and at the beginning of the body of a
written or electronic communication in print as large or larger than the
licensee's or licensee's business name, and at the beginning and ending of any
recorded or electronic communication, unless the recipient of the communication
is a person specified in Parts (b)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(B) of this Rule.
(c) A licensee shall violate this
Rule whenever any agent, employee, or assistant of the licensee violates
Subparagraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) of this Rule with the knowledge,
direction, or consent of the licensee.
Authority
G.S.
90-210.23(a);
90-210.25(e)(1)d;
Eff. April 1, 1987;
Recodified from
21 NCAC
34 .0126 Eff. February 7, 1991;
Amended Eff. February 1, 2009; July 1, 2004;
Pursuant to
G.S.
150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without
substantive public interest Eff. August 19,
2017.
