Bill Text: NY A04304 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to criminal history records of maintenance employees in adult residential health and assisted living facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-01 - held for consideration in health [A04304 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A04304-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4304
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 2, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. LAWRENCE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Health
        AN  ACT  to  amend the social services law and the public health law, in
          relation to criminal history records of maintenance employees in adult
          residential health and assisted living facilities
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
     2  461-u to read as follows:
     3    § 461-u. Access to criminal history records. 1. For  the  purposes  of
     4  this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a) "Maintenance employee" shall mean any individual to be employed or
     6  used by a provider, including those persons employed through a temporary
     7  employment  or  staffing  agency, and who provide supportive maintenance
     8  services to such facility, included,  but  not  limited  to  beautician,
     9  security, janitorial, laundry, recreational and groundskeeping services.
    10  Such term shall not include volunteers.
    11    (b)  "Provider"  shall  mean  an assisted living facility, residential
    12  health care facility, skilled nursing facility  or  any  other  type  of
    13  facility  that provides residential or institutional care to the elderly
    14  or disabled.
    15    2. Subject to the rules and regulations of the  division  of  criminal
    16  justice services, the department of health shall have access to criminal
    17  history  records  maintained  by such division pertaining to any mainte-
    18  nance employee or such persons as the department of health at  any  time
    19  deems necessary to determine their criminal histories.
    20    3.  Every  court  in  which  a  maintenance  employee of a provider is
    21  convicted of a crime while performing  their  intended  duties  at  such
    22  facility  shall,  within  seven days after either the entry of a plea of
    23  guilty, or the verdict of the court or a jury, notify the department  of
    24  health  in  writing  of such conviction. The department of health, after
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05734-01-7
        A. 4304                             2
     1  receipt of such notification or at any time  the  department  of  health
     2  becomes  aware  of the conviction of such maintenance worker, shall have
     3  the authority, granted pursuant to subdivision one of this  section,  to
     4  have access to the criminal history records of such individual.
     5    4.  Any  request  for  criminal  history  records made pursuant to the
     6  provisions of this section shall be accompanied by the  fingerprints  of
     7  the person who is the subject of such request.
     8    § 2. Subdivisions 3 and 5 of section 2899 of the public health law, as
     9  amended  by  chapter  331  of  the  laws of 2006, are amended to read as
    10  follows:
    11    3. "Employee" shall mean any person  to  be  employed  or  used  by  a
    12  provider,  including  those  persons  employed by a temporary employment
    13  agency, to provide direct care or supervision to patients  or  residents
    14  or  an  individual  who  serves  as a maintenance employee as defined in
    15  section four hundred sixty-one-u of the  social  services  law.  Persons
    16  licensed  pursuant  to title eight of the education law or article twen-
    17  ty-eight-D of this chapter are excluded from  the  meaning  of  employee
    18  under this article. Such term shall not include volunteers.
    19    5.  "Prospective  employee"  shall  mean  any  individual, including a
    20  potential maintenance employee, not currently an employee, who files  an
    21  application  for  employment  as  an  employee  with  a provider and the
    22  provider has a reasonable expectation to  hire  such  individual  as  an
    23  employee.
    24    §  3.  Subdivision  10  of section 2899-a of the public health law, as
    25  amended by chapter 94 of the  laws  of  2014,  is  amended  to  read  as
    26  follows:
    27    10.  Notwithstanding  subdivision  eleven  of  section  eight  hundred
    28  forty-five-b of the executive  law,  a  certified  home  health  agency,
    29  licensed home care services agency or long term home health care program
    30  certified, licensed or approved under article thirty-six of this chapter
    31  or  a  home  care services agency exempt from certification or licensure
    32  under article thirty-six of this chapter, or  an  adult  home,  enriched
    33  housing  program or residence for adults licensed under article seven of
    34  the social services law, or an assisted living facility  licensed  under
    35  article  forty-six-B of this chapter, may temporarily approve a prospec-
    36  tive employee while the results  of  the  criminal  history  information
    37  check  and  the  determination  are pending, upon the condition that the
    38  provider conducts appropriate direct observation and evaluation  of  the
    39  temporary  employee,  while  he  or she is temporarily employed, and the
    40  care recipient. The results of such observations shall be documented  in
    41  the  temporary  employee's  personnel  file and shall be maintained. For
    42  purposes of providing such appropriate  direct  observation  and  evalu-
    43  ation, the provider shall utilize an individual employed by such provid-
    44  er  with  a minimum of one year's experience working in an agency certi-
    45  fied, licensed or approved under article thirty-six of this  chapter  or
    46  an adult home, enriched housing program or residence for adults licensed
    47  under article seven of the social services law. If the temporary employ-
    48  ee  is  working under contract with another provider certified, licensed
    49  or approved under article thirty-six  or  article  forty-six-B  of  this
    50  chapter,  such  contract  provider's  appropriate direct observation and
    51  evaluation of the temporary employee, shall be considered sufficient for
    52  the purposes of complying with this subdivision.
    53    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.