225 ILCS 46/25

(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.

(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.

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.

(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.)