HARRISBURG, Pa., March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes announced today that the Department of State took disciplinary actions against 157 licensed or commissioned professionals last January.

A comprehensive list of sanctions imposed by the 27 boards under the department's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs is available at http://www.state.pa.us (keyword: "licensing disciplinary actions").

Each entry includes the name of the respondent, the license number (if any), the respondent's last known business address registered with the board, the sanction imposed, a brief description of the basis for the disciplinary or corrective measure, the effective date, and whether the action has been appealed.

Anyone who suspects unlicensed activity by an individual or facility, or who has been a victim of unethical treatment, can file a complaint either online or through the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs complaints hotline at 1-800-822-2113.

The bureau's 27 boards license more than one million professionals and businesses. The boards oversee a range of occupations in health and business- related fields, including auctioneers, barbers, chiropractors, engineers, funeral directors, pharmacists, physical therapists, veterinarians and many others. The Bureau of Professional and Occupational

Affairs provides resources and guidelines to its licensees to encourage high-quality services to the public.

If any professional holding a Pennsylvania license is found by a board to have violated either state law or that board's regulations, the board can impose disciplinary action against that licensee.

Disciplinary actions may include civil penalties and the suspension or revocation of a license.

Find important information for each of the 27 boards under the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, including the current board newsletter and regulations governing each particular board's licensees, at the Department of State's Web site, http://www.dos.state.pa.us.