34 U.S.C. § 41105 — Criminal background checks for applicants for employment in nursing facilities and home health care agencies
submitted 28 years ago by Pub. L. 105-277 to r/title-34-CRIME-CONTROL-AND-LAW-ENFORCEMENT · 590 words · no verdicts yet
Nursing homes and home health agencies can ask the Attorney General to run a fingerprint background check on job applicants for direct patient-care jobs. The results can only be used to judge the applicant's suitability, and misusing them is a crime.
(a) A nursing facility or home health care agency may ask the Attorney General for a records search and exchange under subsection (b) about a job applicant, but only if the job involves direct patient care. To make the request, the facility or agency must send the applicant's fingerprints, a signed statement from the applicant allowing the search, and other ID information to the Attorney General through the right state agency, within 7 days (not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays) of getting those items.
(b) After a proper request, the Attorney General must search the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division for matching criminal history records and send any results to the state agency that made the request.
(c) The facility or agency that requested the information may use it only to decide if the applicant is suitable for the direct-patient-care job - for no other purpose.
(d) The Attorney General may charge a fee of up to $50 per request.
(e) By 2 years after October 21, 1998, the Attorney General must report to Congress on how many requests were made under this section and what happened with them.
(f) Anyone who knowingly uses this information for a purpose other than the one allowed in (c) can be fined under Title 18, imprisoned up to 2 years, or both.
(g) If a facility or agency reasonably relies on the Attorney General's information to deny someone a job, it cannot be sued by that applicant over the decision, even if the information turns out incomplete or inaccurate.
(h) The Attorney General may issue regulations needed to run this section, covering security, confidentiality, accuracy, use, destruction, and sharing of the information, audits, recordkeeping, fees, and updates to the definitions in (i).
(i) Definitions: "home health care agency" means an agency giving home or personal care on a visiting basis; "nursing facility" means a facility or institution (or part of one) mainly providing nursing care, including skilled nursing care, to residents who need medical or nursing care.
(j) This section applies with no time limit on how long it lasts.
A nursing facility or home health care agency may submit a request to the Attorney General to conduct a search and exchange of records described in subsection (b) regarding an applicant for employment if the employment position is involved in direct patient care.
A nursing facility or home health care agency requesting a search and exchange of records under this section shall submit to the Attorney General through the appropriate State agency or agency designated by the Attorney General a copy of an employment applicant’s fingerprints, a statement signed by the applicant authorizing the nursing facility or home health care agency to request the search and exchange of records, and any other identification information not more than 7 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays under section 6103(a) of title 5) after acquiring the fingerprints, signed statement, and information.
Pursuant to any submission that complies with the requirements of subsection (a), the Attorney General shall search the records of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for any criminal history records corresponding to the fingerprints or other identification information submitted. The Attorney General shall provide any corresponding information resulting from the search to the appropriate State agency or agency designated by the Attorney General to receive such information.
Information regarding an applicant for employment in a nursing facility or home health care agency obtained pursuant to this section may be used only by the facility or agency requesting the information and only for the purpose of determining the suitability of the applicant for employment by the facility or agency in a position involved in direct patient care.
The Attorney General may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed $50 per request, to any nursing facility or home health care agency requesting a search and exchange of records pursuant to this section.
Not later than 2 years after October 21, 1998, the Attorney General shall submit a report to Congress on the number of requests for searches and exchanges of records made under this section by nursing facilities and home health care agencies and the disposition of such requests.
Whoever knowingly uses any information obtained pursuant to this section for a purpose other than as authorized under subsection (c) shall be fined in accordance with title 18, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.
A nursing facility or home health care agency that, in denying employment for an applicant, reasonably relies upon information provided by the Attorney General pursuant to this section shall not be liable in any action brought by the applicant based on the employment determination resulting from the incompleteness or inaccuracy of the information.
The Attorney General may promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section, including regulations regarding the security, confidentiality, accuracy, use, destruction, and dissemination of information, audits and recordkeeping, the imposition of fees, and any necessary modifications to the definitions contained in subsection (i).
In this section:
The term “home health care agency” means an agency that provides home health care or personal care services on a visiting basis in a place of residence.
The term “nursing facility” means a facility or institution (or a distinct part of an institution) that is primarily engaged in providing to residents of the facility or institution nursing care, including skilled nursing care, and related services for individuals who require medical or nursing care.
This section shall apply without fiscal year limitation.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(b) [title I, § 124], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–50, 2681–73.)
- 1998Enacted · Pub. L. 105-277 · 112 Stat. 2681
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 105-277 on 1998-10-21.
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