Section 225 ILCS 510/14 - Minimum standards(a) The Department, by rule, shall establish minimum standards for the operation of nurse agencies. Those standards shall include, but are not limited to: (1) the maintenance of written policies and procedures;(2) the maintenance and submission to the Department of copies of all contracts between the nurse agency and health care facility to which it assigns or refers nurses or certified nurse aides and copies of all invoices to health care facilities personnel. Executed contracts must be sent to the Department within 5 business days of their effective date; and(3) the development of personnel policies for nurses or certified nurse aides employed, assigned, or referred to health care facilities, including a personal interview, a reference check, an annual evaluation of each employee (which may be based in part upon information provided by health care facilities utilizing nurse agency personnel), and periodic health examinations. Executed contracts must be sent to the Department within 5 business days of their effective date and are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. No less than 100% of the nurse or certified nurse aide hourly rate shall be paid to the nurse or certified nurse aide employee.
(b) Each nurse agency shall have a nurse serving as a manager or supervisor of all nurses and certified nurses aides.(c) Each nurse agency shall ensure that its employees meet the minimum licensing, training, continuing education, and orientation standards for which those employees are licensed or certified.(d) A nurse agency shall not employ, assign, or refer for use in an Illinois health care facility a nurse or certified nurse aide unless certified or licensed under applicable provisions of State and federal law or regulations. Each certified nurse aide shall comply with all pertinent regulations of the Illinois Department of Public Health relating to the health and other qualifications of personnel employed in health care facilities.(e) The Department may adopt rules to monitor the usage of nurse agency services to determine their impact.(f) Nurse agencies are prohibited from recruiting potential employees on the premises of a health care facility or requiring, as a condition of employment, assignment, or referral, that their employees recruit new employees for the nurse agency from among the permanent employees of the health care facility to which the nurse agency employees have been employed, assigned, or referred, and the health care facility to which such employees are employed, assigned, or referred is prohibited from requiring, as a condition of employment, that their employees recruit new employees from these nurse agency employees. Violation of this provision is a business offense.(g) Nurse agencies are prohibited from entering into covenants not to compete with nurses and certified nurse aides if the nurse is employed, assigned, or referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a temporary basis or the certified nurse aide is employed, assigned, or referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a temporary basis. A covenant not to compete entered into on or after July 1, 2022 (the effective date of Public Act 102-946) between a nurse agency and a nurse or a certified nurse aide is illegal and void if (i) the nurse is employed, assigned, or referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a temporary basis or (ii) the certified nurse aide is employed, assigned, or referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a temporary basis . In any contract on a temporary basis with any nurse, certified nurse aide, or health care facility, a nurse agency is prohibited from requiring the payment of liquidated damages, conversion fees, employment fees, buy-out fees, placement fees, or other compensation if the nurse or certified nurse aide is hired as a permanent employee of a health care facility.(g-5) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and ending on December 31, 2027, a nurse agency may enter into a covenant not to compete with a nurse or a certified nurse aide if (i) the nurse is employed, assigned, or referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a long-term basis or (ii) the certified nurse aide is employed, assigned, or referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a long-term basis. However, if a covenant not to compete that was entered into on or before December 31, 2027 expires on or after January 1, 2028, the covenant not to compete shall remain in effect until its expiration date. To be enforceable, the term of a covenant not to compete entered into under this subsection must be concurrent with the term of the initial employment, assignment, or referral of the nurse or certified nurse aide to a health care facility. A contract on a long-term basis between any nurse, certified nurse aide, or health care facility and a nurse agency may provide for the payment of actual damages, conversion fees, employment fees, buy-out fees, placement fees, or other reasonable expenses resulting from a violation of the contract that occurred during the initial employment, assignment, or referral term.(h) A nurse agency shall submit a report quarterly to the Department for each health care entity with whom the agency contracts that includes all of the following by provider type and county in which the work was performed: (1) A list of the average amount charged to the health care facility for each individual employee category.(2) A list of the average amount paid by the agency to employees in each individual employee category.(3) A list of the average amount of labor-related costs paid by the agency for each employee category, including payroll taxes, workers' compensation insurance, professional liability coverage, credentialing and testing, and other employee related costs. The Department shall publish by county in which the work was performed the average amount charged to the health care facilities by nurse agencies for each individual worker category and the average amount paid by the agency to each individual worker category.
(i) The Department shall publish on its website the reports yearly by county.(j) The Department of Labor shall compel production of the maintained records, as required under this Section, by the nurse agencies.Amended by P.A. 102-1124,§ 5, eff. 2/3/2023.Amended by P.A. 102-0946,§ 10, eff. 7/1/2022.