HB1076ham004 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Margaret Croke

Filed: 2/25/2026

10400HB1076ham004 LRB104 05517 BAB 34381 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1076

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1076, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Health Care Worker Background Check Act is amended by changing Sections 25, 28, and 40 as follows:

(225 ILCS 46/25)

Sec. 25. Hiring of people with criminal records by health care employers and long-term care facilities.

(a) A health care employer or long-term care facility may hire, employ, or retain any individual in a position involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of clients, patients, or residents who has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit one or more of the following offenses under the laws of this State, or of an offense that is substantially equivalent to the following offenses under the laws of any other state or of the laws of the United States, as verified by court records, records from a state agency, or a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records check, only with a waiver described in Section 40: those defined in Sections 8-1(b), 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, 9-3.4, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-3.1, 10-4, 10-5, 10-7, 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-6, 11-9.1, 11-9.2, 11-9.3, 11-9.4-1, 11-9.5, 11-19.2, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3.05, 12-3.1, 12-3.2, 12-3.3, 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, 12-20.5, 12-21, 12-21.5, 12-21.6, 12-32, 12-33, 12C-5, 12C-10, 16-1, 16-1.3, 16-25, 16A-3, 17-3, 17-56, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4, 18-5, 19-1, 19-3, 19-4, 19-6, 20-1, 20-1.1, 24-1, 24-1.2, 24-1.5, 24-1.8, 24-3.8, or 33A-2, or subdivision (a)(4) of Section 11-14.4, or in subsection (a) of Section 12-3 or subsection (a) or (b) of Section 12-4.4a, of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; those provided in Section 4 of the Wrongs to Children Act; those provided in Section 53 of the Criminal Jurisprudence Act; those defined in subsection (c), (d), (e), (f), or (g) of Section 5 or Section 5.1, 5.2, 7, or 9 of the Cannabis Control Act; those defined in the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act; those defined in Sections 401, 401.1, 404, 405, 405.1, 407, or 407.1 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; or subsection (a) of Section 3.01, Section 3.02, or Section 3.03 of the Humane Care for Animals Act. If an individual's convictions have been expunged or sealed by court order, no waiver is required.

(a-1) A health care employer or long-term care facility may hire, employ, or retain any individual in a position involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of clients, patients, or residents who has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit one or more of the following offenses under the laws of this State, or of an offense that is substantially equivalent to the following offenses under the laws of any other state or of the laws of the United States, as verified by court records, records from a state agency, or a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records check, only with a waiver described in Section 40: those offenses defined in Section 12-3.3, 12-4.2-5, 16-2, 16-30, 16G-15, 16G-20, 17-33, 17-34, 17-36, 17-44, 18-5, 20-1.2, 24-1.1, 24-1.2-5, 24-1.6, 24-3.2, or 24-3.3, or subsection (b) of Section 17-32, subsection (b) of Section 18-1, or subsection (b) of Section 20-1, of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; Section 4, 5, 6, 8, or 17.02 of the Illinois Credit Card and Debit Card Act; or Section 11-9.1A of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or Section 5.1 of the Wrongs to Children Act; or (ii) violated Section 50-50 of the Nurse Practice Act. If an individual's convictions have been expunged or sealed by court order, no waiver is required.

A health care employer is not required to retain an individual in a position with duties involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents, and no long-term care facility is required to retain an individual in a position with duties that involve or may involve contact with residents or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of 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, whether paid or on a volunteer basis, any individual in a position with duties involving direct care of clients, patients, or residents, and no long-term care facility shall knowingly hire, employ, or retain, whether paid or on a volunteer basis, any individual in a position with duties that involve or may involve contact with residents or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of 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, unless the applicant or employee obtains a waiver pursuant to Section 40 of this Act. 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. If an individual's convictions have been expunged or sealed by court order, no waiver is required.

(c) A health care employer shall not hire, employ, or retain, whether paid or on a volunteer basis, any individual in a position with duties involving direct care of clients, patients, or residents, who has a finding by the Department of abuse, neglect, misappropriation of property, or theft denoted on the Health Care Worker Registry.

(d) A health care employer shall not hire, employ, or retain, whether paid or on a volunteer basis, any individual in a position with duties involving direct care of clients, patients, or residents if the individual has a verified and substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation, as identified within the Adult Protective Service Registry established under Section 7.5 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(e) A health care employer shall not hire, employ, or retain, whether paid or on a volunteer basis, any individual in a position with duties involving direct care of clients, patients, or residents who has a finding by the Department of Human Services denoted on the Health Care Worker Registry of physical or sexual abuse, financial exploitation, egregious neglect, or material obstruction of an investigation.

(Source: P.A. 103-76, eff. 6-9-23; 103-428, eff. 1-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24.)

(225 ILCS 46/28)

Sec. 28. Designation on Registry for offense.

(a) The Department, after notice to the employee, or former employee, may denote on the Health Care Worker Registry that the Department has found any of the following:

(1) The employee, or former employee, has abused a resident.

(2) The employee, or former employee, has neglected a resident.

(3) The employee, or former employee, has misappropriated resident property.

(4) The employee, or former employee, has been convicted of (i) a felony; (ii) a misdemeanor, an essential element of which is dishonesty; or (iii) any crime that is directly related to the duties of an employee, a nursing assistant, habilitation aide, or child care aide. This paragraph does not include any convictions that have been sealed by court order.

(b) Notice under this Section shall include a clear and concise statement of the grounds denoting abuse, neglect, theft, or other applicable finding, and notice of the opportunity for a hearing to contest the designation.

(c) The Department shall document criminal history records check results pursuant to the requirements of this Act.

(d) After the designation of neglect on the Health Care Worker Registry, made pursuant to this Section, an employee, or former employee, may petition the Department for removal of a designation of neglect on the Health Care Worker Registry, after durations set forth within the Department's notice made pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this Section. Upon receipt of a petition, the Department may remove the designation for a finding of neglect after no less than one year, or the designation of applicable findings set forth by rule of an employee, or former employee, for minimum durations set forth by the Department, on the Health Care Worker Registry unless the Department determines that removal of designation is not in the public interest. The Department shall set forth by rule the discretionary factors by which designations of employees or former employees may be removed.

(Source: P.A. 100-432, eff. 8-25-17.)

(225 ILCS 46/40)

Sec. 40. Waiver.

(a) Any student, applicant, enrollee in a training program, individual receiving services from a workforce intermediary or organization providing pro bono legal services, or employee listed on the Health Care Worker Registry may request a waiver of the prohibition against employment by:

(1) completing a waiver application on a form prescribed by the Department of Public Health;

(2) providing a written explanation of each conviction that has not been sealed by court order to include (i) what happened, (ii) how many years have passed since the offense, (iii) the individuals involved, (iv) the age of the applicant at the time of the offense, and (v) any other circumstances surrounding the offense; and

(3) providing official documentation showing that all fines have been paid, if applicable and except for in the instance of payment of court-imposed fines or restitution in which the applicant is adhering to a payment schedule, and the date probation or parole was satisfactorily completed, if applicable.

(b) The applicant may, but is not required to, submit employment and character references and any other evidence demonstrating the ability of the applicant or employee to perform the employment responsibilities competently and evidence that the applicant or employee does not pose a threat to the health or safety of residents, patients, or clients.

(c) The Department of Public Health may, at the discretion of the Director of Public Health, grant a waiver to an applicant, student, or employee listed on the Health Care Worker Registry. The Department of Public Health shall act upon the waiver request within 30 days of receipt of all necessary information, as defined by rule. The Department of Public Health shall send an applicant, student, or employee written notification of its decision whether to grant a waiver, including listing the specific disqualifying offenses for which the waiver is being granted or denied. The Department shall issue additional copies of this written notification upon the applicant's, student's, or employee's request.

(d) An individual shall not be employed from the time that the employer receives a notification from the Department of Public Health based upon the results of a fingerprint-based criminal history records check containing disqualifying conditions until the time that the individual receives a waiver.

(e) The entity responsible for inspecting, licensing, certifying, or registering the health care employer and the Department of Public Health shall be immune from liability for any waivers granted under this Section.

(f) A health care employer is not obligated to employ or offer permanent employment to an applicant, or to retain an employee who is granted a waiver under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 100-432, eff. 8-25-17; 101-176, eff. 7-31-19.)

Section 10. The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act is amended by changing Section 15 as follows:

(820 ILCS 75/15)

Sec. 15. Employer pre-screening.

(a) An employer or employment agency may not inquire about or into, consider, or require disclosure of the criminal record or criminal history of an applicant until the applicant has been determined qualified for the position and notified that the applicant has been selected for an interview by the employer or employment agency or, if there is not an interview, until after a conditional offer of employment is made to the applicant by the employer or employment agency. This Section prohibits prospective employers of health care workers from inquiring into an applicant's criminal history, except to the extent allowed by the Health Care Worker Background Check Act.

(b) The requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this Section do not apply for positions where:

(1) employers are required to exclude applicants with certain criminal convictions from employment due to federal or State law;

(2) a standard fidelity bond or an equivalent bond is required and an applicant's conviction of one or more specified criminal offenses would disqualify the applicant from obtaining such a bond, in which case an employer may include a question or otherwise inquire whether the applicant has ever been convicted of any of those offenses; or

(3) employers employ individuals licensed under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.

(c) This Section does not prohibit an employer from notifying applicants in writing of the specific offenses that will disqualify an applicant from employment in a particular position due to federal or State law or the employer's policy.

(Source: P.A. 98-774, eff. 1-1-15.)".