The good moral character requirement for occupational licensing

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which a character component is required for occupational licensing by state, industry and occupation. This study also investigates whether the good moral character (GMC) is defined and how GMC is defined in state statutes. Investigating the GMC requirement is important to society at large because character is a vital factor for trust and trust is an essential component to voluntary exchange and free markets. Investigating the GMC requirement is also important to the thousands of rehabilitated individuals who may be denied work in licensed occupations because of past transgressions.

Design/methodology/approach

The quantitative research data were collected from state licensing statutes. The number of licensed occupations within each of the 50 states that require GMC was tabulated, as well as the number of states that require GMC for licensing by industry group. In addition, an occupation that requires GMC in a high number of states was compared to an occupation that requires GMC in a low number of states within 11 industry groups. Finally, regulatory statutes were searched to determine how good moral character is defined by each of the state licensing boards for the select occupations.

Findings

This paper reports that the inclusion of a character component within regulatory licensing statutes varies widely by occupation and by state. The number of occupations requiring GMC ranged from 8 to 119 per state. The number of states requiring GMC ranged from 12 to 49 per industry group. Occupations within industry groups that are more frequently licensed are also more likely to require GMC than occupations that are less frequently licensed. Occupations that are more frequently licensed, however, are generally not more likely to define GMC in their regulatory statutes. Only accounting, an occupation that requires GMC in most states, also defines GMC in more states than any of the other select occupations.

Research limitations/implications

Only state regulatory statutes were searched for definitions of GMC. Definitions could be included in other government documents such as rules or regulations. As these additional sources were not searched, the number of states that define GMC for the select occupations cited in this study may be understated.

Originality/value

Prior research has included only studies of the GMC requirement relating to the licensing of attorneys and accountants. The current research explores the extent that good moral character is required for licensing across states, industries and select occupations. This research agrees with prior research that GMC, although providing an important foundation for public trust, is typically not well-defined. To counter criticism of the requirement, this paper concludes with a call for the inclusion of a GMC definition within occupational licensing statutes that is “narrowly and precisely construed, avoiding problems of both vagueness and over breadth” (AICPA and NASBA, 2018).

Citation

Elder, B.R. and Swinney, L. (2020), "The good moral character requirement for occupational licensing", Management Research Review, Vol. 43 No. 6, pp. 717-733. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-03-2019-0129