D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 22, r. 22-B4701

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Rule 22-B4701 - BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENT

4701.1

A facility, long-term care facility or provider, shall not offer to employ or contract with any unlicensed person having direct patient, resident, or client access, or person licensed, registered, or certified under Chapter 12 of Title 3 of the D.C. Official Code unless within a forty-five (45) day period immediately preceding the date of initial employment or initial commencement of contract services the following has occurred:

(a) Pursuant to § 4701.2 and 4701.3, the person has undergone fingerprinting or live scan performed in the District of Columbia which has resulted in a criminal history, that reveals all convictions that have occurred within the District of Columbia and the fifty (50) states;

(b) The Department of Health verifies that the person has not been convicted, within the seven (7) years before the criminal background check, of any of the offenses listed in § 4705.1;

(c) The Department of Health and those facilities identified pursuant to § 4701.1 verify by means of a check, that the person's name is not on the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website coordinated by the United States Department of Justice, or the Nurse Aide Abuse Registry of the District of Columbia or such registry in the state or states in which the person has lived or worked; and

(d) The person provides a sworn statement affirming that there are no criminal matters pending against him or her.

4701.2

Each facility, long-term care facility or provider, identified in § 4701.1 shall cause each prospective employee or contract worker who will have, or foreseeably may have direct patient, resident, or client access, to undergo a criminal background check that shall reveal the criminal history, if any, in the District of Columbia and the fifty (50) states. Fingerprinting or live scan shall be performed in the District of Columbia utilizing the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) or a private agency. The criminal background check shall be performed, following fingerprinting or live scan, by the MPD and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in an FBI-approved environment. The results of the criminal background checks shall be forwarded to the Department of Health.

4701.3

The results of the criminal background check shall disclose the criminal history, if any, of the prospective employee or contract worker for the previous seven (7) years before the check.

4701.4

An employee or a contract worker shall be required to undergo a subsequent criminal background check every four (4) years after the date of his or her initial background check, provided that if the name of the employee appears in the FBI databank when the "rap back" system is implemented, the employee shall not be required to have a subsequent criminal background check performed.

4701.5

The Department of Health shall notify a facility, long-term care facility or provider that employs the subject of a criminal background check which returns positive results for any of the offenses listed in § 4705.1 within forty-five (45) days prior to the commencement of the subjects employment.

4701.6

A facility, long-term care facility or provider shall inform the Department of Health within ten (10) days of the resignation or termination of any employee subject to criminal background checks under this chapter whose resignation or termination was for criminal, unprofessional, or unethical conduct.

4701.7

A contract worker shall not be considered resigned or terminated for purposes of § 4701.6 as long as the employment contract with the facility is renewed within forty-five (45) days of its satisfaction.

4701.8

Nothing in this section shall prohibit a facility from requiring, in a contract agreement, that the criminal background checks for contract workers be obtained by the contractor.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 22, r. 22-B4701

Final Rulemaking published at 48 DCR 294 (January 12, 2001); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 49 DCR 6835 (July 19, 2002); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 1169 (February 1, 2013)

Authority: Section 3 of the Health-Care Facility Unlicensed Personnel Criminal Background Check Act of 1998, effective April 20, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-238; D.C. Official Code §§ 44-552 and 44-554 (2005 Repl.)) and Mayor's Order 2000-9, dated January 21, 2000.