The Florida Senate

400.964  Personnel screening requirement.--

(1)  The agency shall require level 2 background screening as provided in chapter 435 for all employees or prospective employees of facilities licensed under this part who are expected to be, or whose responsibilities are such that they would be considered to be, a direct service provider.

(2)  Employers and employees shall comply with the requirements of chapter 435.

(3)  Applicants and employees shall be excluded from employment pursuant to s. 435.06

(4)  The applicant is responsible for paying the fees associated with obtaining the required screening. Payment for the screening must be submitted to the agency as prescribed by the agency.

(5)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, persons who have been screened and qualified as required by this section and who have not been unemployed for more than 180 days thereafter, and who under penalty of perjury attest to not having been convicted of a disqualifying offense since the completion of such screening are not required to be rescreened. An employer may obtain, pursuant to s. 435.10, written verification of qualifying screening results from the previous employer or other entity that caused such screening to be performed.

(6)  The agency may adopt rules to administer this section.

(7)  All employees must comply with the requirements of this section by October 1, 2000. A person employed by a facility licensed pursuant to this part as of the effective date of this act is not required to submit to rescreening if the facility has in its possession written evidence that the person has been screened and qualified according to level 1 standards as specified in s. 435.03(1). Any current employee who meets the level 1 requirement but does not meet the 5-year residency requirement must provide to the employing facility written attestation under penalty of perjury that the employee has not been convicted of a disqualifying offense in another state or jurisdiction. All applicants hired on or after October 1, 1999, must comply with the requirements of this section.

(8)  There is no monetary or unemployment liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages arises against an employer that, upon notice of a disqualifying offense listed under chapter 435 or an act of domestic violence, terminates the employee, whether or not the employee has filed for an exemption with the Department of Health or the Agency for Health Care Administration.

History.--s. 9, ch. 99-144; s. 93, ch. 2000-349.