Professional Conduct

(1) All persons engaged in the profession of funeral directing, embalming or operation of a funeral establishment shall at all times act in a professional manner including, but not limited to, the following: (a) Members of the public shall be treated in a reasonable manner. Unreasonable treatment is conduct that falls below the standard of professional conduct including, but not limited to: 1. Abusive, aggressive, hostile, or disrespectful conduct; or 2. Being unresponsive to a member of the public for an unreasonable period of time without justification, such as: not returning phone calls, not answering inquiries, or leaving a member of the public unattended. (b) Establishments shall honor financial obligations to suppliers, distributors, or other persons with whom they conduct business in a timely manner. (c) If a particular funeral establishment has custody of a decedent’s remains, but is not selected by a person(s) with a vested right under T.C.A. § 62-5-703 to control the disposition of the remains, the funeral establishment must release the remains to the establishment that is properly selected, regardless of whether the costs of any merchandise or services provided by the initial funeral establishment are paid at the time of release. Such costs shall remain payable by the selected funeral establishment; failure to pay upon lawful demand may result in disciplinary action imposed by the Board. Nothing herein shall be construed to affect the civil liability of the responsible party or other persons under relevant law. (d) Any person who has been assessed a fee pursuant to statute or rules of the Board, and which fee is currently due, shall submit payment within the time provided by written notice. STANDARDS OF SERVICE AND PRACTICE CHAPTER 0660-11 (e) Any licensee, upon receiving any notice from the Board requesting a response, including but not limited to, notice that a complaint has been opened against the licensee, shall respond within the time specified in the notice. Provided, the director may grant a request for extension submitted within the period of time stated in the original notice. (f) A funeral director, embalmer, or establishment shall not unreasonably delay the filing of a certificate of death. (g) An embalmer shall make every reasonable effort to return viscera to the body cavity for final disposition. In the event the embalmer is unable to return the viscera to the body cavity, the viscera shall be placed in a non-porous container, labeled as such, and disposed of in an identical manner to the remains. (h) Licensees shall obey any lawful order entered by the Board. (i) A licensee or registrant shall not engage in any conduct that may mislead or deceive the public as to the physical location of any funeral establishment. (j) Funeral directors, embalmers, and establishments shall conduct themselves in a way that does not offend the reasonable sensibilities of the public and reflects respect for dead human bodies.