Employment and Supervision of Apprentice Opticians

(1) A duly registered apprentice optician may perform any function or service which is included within the “practice of opticianry”, as defined in 235 CMR 2.04, as long as he or she does so under the direct, on-site supervision of: (a) a duly licensed dispensing optician licensed by the Board pursuant to 235 CMR 2.07 or 235 CMR 2.08; 4.07: continued (b) physician who is duly licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; or (c) an optometrist who is duly registered by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Optometry to practice optometry in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For purposes of 235 CMR 4.07(1), “direct on-site supervision” shall mean that the individual who is providing such supervision is physically present on the premises where the apprentice optician is performing the function or service, and is available for consultation, at the time that the function or service is being performed. (2) Where the employer of an apprentice optician is a partnership, corporation, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, association or other business organization or entity which owns and/or operates a commercial optical goods establishment, the supervision of the apprentice optician required by 235 CMR 4.07(1) shall be provided by an individual identified by that employer, in writing, as the supervisor of that apprentice optician. The individual so designated shall be an individual who: (a) meets the requirements of 235 CMR 4.07(1)(a) or 235 CMR 4.07(1)(b); (b) has agreed in writing to provide the supervision required by 235 CMR 4.07(1); and (c) has agreed in writing to accept responsibility for the acts and omissions of that apprentice optician. The employer shall notify the Board and the Division of Apprentice Standards of the name, address and license number of the individual so designated as the supervisor of that apprentice optician. (3) In accordance with 246 CMR 3.03(2), an optometrist registered to practice optometry in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shall not serve as the supervisor of an apprentice optician unless the apprentice optician is directly employed by that optometrist, or by an optical goods establishment owned and operated by that optometrist. (4) In the event that the individual who is identified as the supervisor of an apprentice optician pursuant to 235 CMR 4.03(2)(e) is temporarily unavailable to provide such supervision due to illness, vacation or other similar cause, the employer of the apprentice optician shall delegate the responsibility for providing such supervision to another individual who meets the applicable requirements of 235 CMR 4.07(1) through 235 CMR 4.07(3). In such event, the employer shall not be required to notify the Board or the Division of Apprenticeship and Standards of the identity of that temporarysupervisor, but shall maintain a permanent written record on site which contains the name, address and license number of the individual who was designated as the temporary supervisor and the period of time for which that individual served as the temporary supervisor. Such records shall be made available to any duly authorized representative of either the Board or the Division of Apprentice Standards, without prior notice, for inspection and copying at any time during regular business hours. (5) No employer may employ more than two apprentice opticians for every licensed dispensing optician, registered physician or registered optometrist, as the case may be, so that the ratio of licensed dispensing opticians (or registered physicians or registered optometrists) to apprentice opticians is no greater than 1:2. This maximum ratio of 1:2 shall not be exceeded at any office or premises at which an apprentice works. (6) An employer of an apprentice optician shall notify both the Board and the Division of Apprentice Standards, in writing, of any and all changes in the employment status of any apprentice optician in his or her employ, and of the completion of any apprenticeship. (7) The employer shall give each apprentice optician in his or her employ a copy of 235 CMR at the beginning of the apprenticeship period.