Public Act 93-0224
SB1912 Enrolled LRB093 08717 RCE 08947 b
AN ACT concerning health care workers.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Health Care Worker Background Check Act
is amended by changing Sections 25 and 65 as follows:
(225 ILCS 46/25)
Sec. 25. Persons ineligible to be hired by health care
employers.
(a) After January 1, 1996, or January 1, 1997, as
applicable, no health care employer shall knowingly hire,
employ, or retain any individual in a position with duties
involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents,
who has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit
one or more of the offenses defined in Sections 8-1.1, 8-1.2,
9-1, 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.1, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2,
10-3, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-7, 11-6, 11-9.1, 11-19.2,
11-20.1, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-3.1, 12-3.2, 12-4, 12-4.1,
12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-4.4, 12-4.5, 12-4.6, 12-4.7, 12-7.4,
12-11, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-19, 12-21,
12-21.6, 12-32, 12-33, 16-1, 16-1.3, 16A-3, 17-3, 18-1, 18-2,
18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 19-1, 19-3, 19-4, 20-1, 20-1.1, 24-1,
24-1.2, 24-1.5, or 33A-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961; those
provided in Section 4 of the Wrongs to Children Act; those
provided in Section 53 of the Criminal Jurisprudence Act;
those defined in Section 5, 5.1, 5.2, 7, or 9 of the Cannabis
Control Act; or those defined in Sections 401, 401.1, 404,
405, 405.1, 407, or 407.1 of the Illinois Controlled
Substances Act, unless the applicant or employee obtains a
waiver pursuant to Section 40.
(a-1) After January 1, 2004, no health care employer
shall knowingly hire any individual in a position with duties
involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents who
has (i) been convicted of committing or attempting to commit
one or more of the offenses defined in Section 12-3.3,
12-4.2-5, 16-2, 16G-15, 16G-20, 18-5, 20-1.2, 24-1.1,
24-1.2-5, 24-1.6, 24-3.2, or 24-3.3 of the Criminal Code of
1961; Section 4, 5, 6, 8, or 17.02 of the Illinois Credit
Card and Debit Card Act; or Section 5.1 of the Wrongs to
Children Act; or (ii) violated Section 10-5 of the Nursing
and Advanced Practice Nursing Act.
A UCIA criminal history record check need not be redone
for health care employees who have been continuously employed
by a health care employer since January 1, 2004, but nothing
in this Section prohibits a health care employer from
initiating a criminal history check for these employees.
A health care employer is not required to retain an
individual in a position with duties involving direct care
for clients, patients, or residents who has been convicted of
committing or attempting to commit one or more of the
offenses enumerated in this subsection.
(b) A health care employer shall not hire, employ, or
retain any individual in a position with duties involving
direct care of clients, patients, or residents if the health
care employer becomes aware that the individual has been
convicted in another state of committing or attempting to
commit an offense that has the same or similar elements as an
offense listed in subsection (a) or (a-1), as verified by
court records, records from a state agency, or an FBI
criminal history record check. This shall not be construed to
mean that a health care employer has an obligation to conduct
a criminal history records check in other states in which an
employee has resided.
(Source: P.A. 90-441, eff. 1-1-98; 91-598, eff. 1-1-00.)
(225 ILCS 46/65)
Sec. 65. Health Care Worker Task Force. A Health Care
Worker Task Force shall be appointed no later than July 1,
1996, to study and make recommendations on statutory changes
to this Act.
(a) The Task Force shall monitor the status of the
implementation of this Act and monitor complaint
investigations relating to this Act by the Department on
Aging, Department of Public Health, Department of
Professional Regulation, and the Department of Human Services
to determine the criminal background, if any, of health care
workers who have had findings of abuse, theft, or
exploitation.
(b) The Task Force shall make recommendations
concerning: (1) additional health care positions, including
licensed individuals and volunteers, that should be included
in the Act; (2) development of a transition to
fingerprint-based State and federal criminal records checks
for all direct care applicants or employees; (3) development
of a system that is affordable to applicants; (4)
modifications to the list of offenses enumerated in Section
25, including time limits on all or some of the disqualifying
offenses,; and (5) any other necessary or desirable changes
to the Act.
(c) The Task Force shall issue an interim report to the
Governor and General Assembly no later than January 1, 2004
December 31, 1996. The final report shall be issued no later
than September 30, 2005 1997, and shall include specific
statutory changes recommended, if any.
(d) The Task Force shall be composed comprised of the
following members, who shall serve without pay:
(1) a chairman knowledgeable about health care
issues, who shall be appointed by the Governor;
(2) the Director of the Department of Public Health
or his or her designee;
(3) the Director of the Department of State Police
or his or her designee;
(3.5) the Director of the Department of Public Aid
or his or her designee;
(3.6) the Secretary of Human Services or his or her
designee;
(3.7) the Director of Aging or his or her designee;
(4) 2 representatives of health care providers, who
shall be appointed by the Governor;
(5) 2 representatives of health care employees, who
shall be appointed by the Governor;
(5.5) a representative of a Community Care
homemaker program, who shall be appointed by the
Governor;
(6) a representative of the general public who has
an interest in health care, who shall be appointed by the
Governor; and
(7) 4 members of the General Assembly, one
appointed by the Speaker of the House, one appointed by
the House Minority Leader, one appointed by the President
of the Senate, and one appointed by the Senate Minority
Leader.
(Source: P.A. 89-197, eff. 7-21-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97;
89-674, eff. 8-14-96; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.