| (a) Personnel records. A facility must keep current
and complete personnel records on a facility employee for review by
HHSC staff including:
(1) documentation that the facility performed a criminal
history check;
(2) an annual employee misconduct registry check;
(3) an annual nurse aide registry check;
(4) documentation of initial tuberculosis screenings
referenced in §553.261(f) of this subchapter (relating to Coordination
of Care);
(5) documentation of the employee's compliance with
or exemption from the facility vaccination policy referenced in §553.261(f)
of this subchapter;
(6) the signed statement from the employee referenced
in §553.273 of this subchapter (relating to Abuse, Neglect, or
Exploitation Reportable to HHSC by Facilities), acknowledging that
the employee may be criminally liable for the failure to report abuse,
neglect, and exploitation; and
(7) a signed disclosure statement, indicating whether
the employee:
(A) has been convicted of an offense described in Texas
Health and Safety Code §250.006; and
(B) has lived in a state other than Texas within the
past five years.
(b) Investigation of facility employees.
(1) A facility must comply with the provisions of Texas
Health and Safety Code, Chapter 250.
(2) Before a facility hires an employee, the facility
must search the employee misconduct registry (EMR) established under §253.007,
Texas Health and Safety Code, and the HHSC nurse aide registry (NAR)
to determine if the individual is designated in either registry as
unemployable based on employee misconduct. Both registries can be
accessed on the HHSC Internet website.
(3) A facility is prohibited from hiring or continuing
to employ a person who is listed in the EMR or NAR as unemployable
or who has been convicted of an offense listed in Texas Health and
Safety Code §250.006 as a bar to employment or is a contraindication
to employment with the facility.
(4) A facility must provide notification about the
EMR to an employee in accordance with §561.3 of this title (relating
to Employment and Registry Information).
(5) In addition to the initial search of the NAR and
the EMR, a facility must conduct a search of the NAR and the EMR to
determine if the employee is designated in either registry as unemployable
at least every 12 months.
(6) A facility must keep a copy of the results of the
initial and annual searches of the NAR and EMR in the employee's personnel
file.
(7) If an applicant for employment indicates on the
disclosure statement that he or she have lived in another state within
the past five years, the facility must conduct a name-based criminal
history check in each state in which the applicant previously resided
within the five-year period. A facility may hire the applicant pending
the results of the name-based criminal history check in each state,
but the employee must not be in a position that has direct contact
with residents.
(8) If HHSC determines that a facility employee has
engaged in reportable conduct, the facility must:
(A) suspend the employment of the employee while the
employee exhausts any applicable appeals process, including informal
and formal appeals and any hearing or judicial review conducted in
accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code §253.004 or §253.005,
pending a final decision by an administrative law judge; and
(B) not reinstate the employee's employment during
the course of any applicable appeals process.
(9) For the purpose of paragraph (8) of this subsection,
reportable conduct includes:
(A) abuse or neglect that causes or may cause death
or harm to a resident;
(B) sexual abuse of a resident;
(C) financial exploitation of a resident in an amount
of $25 or more; and
(D) emotional, verbal, or psychological abuse that
causes harm to a resident.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §553.257 adopted to be effective August 31, 2021, 46 TexReg 5017; amended to be effective December 6, 2022, 47 TexReg 7705; amended to be effective September 12, 2024, 49 TexReg 7044 |
