Sec. 19a-491b. Notification of criminal conviction or disciplinary action. Civil penalty. False statements. Criminal history records checks.

(a) Any person who is licensed to establish, conduct, operate or maintain a nursing home or residential care home shall notify the Commissioner of Public Health immediately if the owner, conductor, operator or maintainer of such home, any person described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 19a-491a, or any nurse or nurse's aide has been convicted of (1) a felony, as defined in section 53a-25, (2) cruelty to persons under section 53-20, or (3) assault of a victim sixty or older under section 53a-61a; or has been subject to any decision imposing disciplinary action by the licensing agency in any state, the District of Columbia, a United States possession or territory or a foreign jurisdiction. Failure to comply with the notification requirement shall subject the licensed person to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars.

(b) Each nursing home and residential care home shall require a person described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 19a-491a or a nurse or nurse's aide to complete and sign an application form which contains questions as to whether the person has been convicted of any crime specified in subsection (a) of this section or has been subject to any decision imposing disciplinary action as described in said subsection. Any person seeking employment in a position connected with the provision of care in a nursing home or residential care home who makes a false written statement regarding such prior criminal convictions or disciplinary action shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

(c) The Commissioner of Public Health shall require each initial applicant described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 19a-491a to submit to state and national criminal history records checks. The criminal history records checks required by this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with section 29-17a.

(P.A. 89-350, S. 2; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 01-175, S. 17, 32; P.A. 13-208, S. 27.)

History: P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 01-175 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing language re criminal background investigations with language re state and national criminal history records checks pursuant to Sec. 29-17a, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 13-208 amended Subsec. (a) by adding reference to residential care home and making a technical change, and amended Subsec. (b) by adding references to residential care home, effective July 1, 2013.