135B.34 - HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES -- CRIMINAL HISTORY AND ABUSE RECORD CHECKS -- PENALTY.
135B.34 HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES -- CRIMINAL HISTORY AND
ABUSE RECORD CHECKS -- PENALTY.
1. Prior to employment of a person in a hospital, the hospital
shall request that the department of public safety perform a criminal
history check and the department of human services perform child and
dependent adult abuse record checks of the person in this state. A
hospital shall inform all persons prior to employment regarding the
performance of the record checks and shall obtain, from the persons,
a signed acknowledgment of the receipt of the information. A
hospital shall include the following inquiry in an application for
employment:
"Do you have a record of founded child or dependent adult abuse or
have you ever been convicted of a crime, in this state or any other
state?"
2. a. If it is determined that a person being considered for
employment in a hospital has committed a crime, the department of
public safety shall notify the hospital that upon the request of the
hospital the department of human services will perform an evaluation
to determine whether the crime warrants prohibition of the person's
employment in the hospital.
b. If a department of human services child or dependent adult
abuse record check shows that the person has a record of founded
child or dependent adult abuse, the department of human services
shall notify the hospital that upon the request of the hospital the
department of human services will perform an evaluation to determine
whether the founded child or dependent adult abuse warrants
prohibition of the person's employment in the hospital.
c. An evaluation performed under this subsection shall be
performed in accordance with procedures adopted for this purpose by
the department of human services.
d. (1) If a person owns or operates more than one hospital,
and an employee of one of such hospitals is transferred to another
such hospital without a lapse in employment, the hospital is not
required to request additional criminal and child and dependent adult
abuse record checks of that employee.
(2) If the ownership of a hospital is transferred, at the time of
transfer the record checks required by this section shall be
performed for each employee for whom there is no documentation that
such record checks have been performed. The hospital may continue to
employ such employee pending the performance of the record checks and
any related evaluation.
3. In an evaluation, the department of human services shall
consider the nature and seriousness of the crime or founded child or
dependent adult abuse in relation to the position sought or held, the
time elapsed since the commission of the crime or founded child or
dependent adult abuse, the circumstances under which the crime or
founded child or dependent adult abuse was committed, the degree of
rehabilitation, the likelihood that the person will commit the crime
or founded child or dependent adult abuse again, and the number of
crimes or founded child or dependent adult abuses committed by the
person involved. If the department of human services performs an
evaluation for the purposes of this section, the department of human
services has final authority in determining whether prohibition of
the person's employment is warranted.
4. a. Except as provided in paragraph "b" and subsection
2, a person who has committed a crime or has a record of founded
child or dependent adult abuse shall not be employed in a hospital
licensed under this chapter unless an evaluation has been performed
by the department of human services.
b. A person with a criminal or abuse record who is employed
by a hospital licensed under this chapter and is hired by another
licensee without a lapse in employment shall be subject to the
criminal history and abuse record checks required pursuant to
subsection 1. If an evaluation was previously performed by the
department of human services concerning the person's criminal or
abuse record and it was determined that the record did not warrant
prohibition of the person's employment and the latest record checks
do not indicate a crime was committed or founded abuse record was
entered subsequent to that evaluation, the person may commence
employment with the other licensee while the department of human
services' evaluation of the latest record checks is pending.
Otherwise, the requirements of paragraph "a" remain applicable to
the person's employment.
5. a. If a person employed by a hospital that is subject to
this section is convicted of a crime or has a record of founded child
or dependent adult abuse entered in the abuse registry after the
person's employment application date, the person shall inform the
hospital of such information within forty-eight hours of the criminal
conviction or entry of the record of founded child or dependent adult
abuse. The hospital shall act to verify the information within
forty-eight hours of notification. If the information is verified,
the requirements of subsections 2, 3, and 4 regarding employability
and evaluations shall be applied by the hospital to determine whether
or not the person's employment is continued. The hospital may
continue to employ the person pending the performance of an
evaluation by the department of human services to determine whether
prohibition of the person's employment is warranted. A person who is
required by this subsection to inform the person's employer of a
conviction or entry of an abuse record and fails to do so within the
required period commits a serious misdemeanor.
b. If a hospital receives credible information, as determined
by the hospital, that a person employed by the hospital has been
convicted of a crime or a record of founded child or dependent adult
abuse has been entered in the abuse registry after employment from a
person other than the employee and the employee has not informed the
hospital of such information within the period required under
paragraph "a", the hospital shall act to verify the credible
information within forty-eight hours of receipt of the credible
information. If the information is verified, the requirements of
subsections 2, 3, and 4 regarding employability and evaluations shall
be applied by the hospital to determine whether or not the person's
employment is continued.
c. The hospital may notify the county attorney for the county
where the hospital is located of any violation or failure by an
employee to notify the hospital of a criminal conviction or entry of
an abuse record within the period required under paragraph "a".
6. A hospital licensed in this state may access the single
contact repository established by the department pursuant to section
135C.33 as necessary for the hospital to perform record checks of
persons employed or being considered for employment by the hospital.
Section History: Recent Form
2002 Acts, ch 1034, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1187, §111