Iowa Code 135Q.2 – Health care employment agency requirements — registration — liability — penalties
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1. A health care employment agency operating in the state shall register annually with the department. Each separate location of a health care employment agency shall register annually with and pay an annual registration fee of five hundred dollars to the department. The department shall issue each location a separate certification of registration upon approval of registration and payment of the fee. The annual registration fees shall be retained by the department as repayment receipts as defined in section 8.2.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 135Q.2
- agency: means an agency that contracts with a health care entity in this state to provide agency workers for temporary or temporary-to-hire employee placements. See Iowa Code 135Q.1
- agency worker: means an individual who contracts with or is employed by a health care employment agency to provide nursing services to health care entity consumers. See Iowa Code 135Q.1
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Department: means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- Department: means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. See Iowa Code 135Q.1
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Health care entity: means a facility, agency, or program licensed or certified by the department or by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services. See Iowa Code 135Q.1
- License: means a license issued by the state under this chapter to a hearing aid specialist. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- Managing entity: includes an individual who, directly or indirectly, holds a beneficial interest in a corporation, partnership, or other business entity that constitutes a managing entity. See Iowa Code 135Q.1
- Person: means a natural person. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Iowa Code 152E.3
- United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
2. A health care employment agency shall do all of the following:
a. Ensure that agency workers comply with all applicable requirements relating to the health requirements and qualifications of personnel in health care entity settings.
b. Document that each agency worker meets the minimum licensing, certification, training, and health requirements and the continuing education standards for the agency worker’s position in the health care entity setting.
c. Maintain records for each agency worker and report, file, or otherwise provide any required documentation to external parties or regulators which would otherwise be the responsibility of the health care entity if the agency worker was employed by the health care entity.
d. Maintain professional and general liability insurance coverage with minimum per occurrence coverage of one million dollars and aggregate coverage of three million dollars to insure against loss, damage, or expense incident to a claim arising out of the death or injury of any person as the result of negligence or malpractice in the provision of services by the agency or an agency worker.
3. a. A health care employment agency shall not do any of the following:
(1) Restrict in any manner the employment opportunities of an agency worker by including a non-compete clause in any contract with an agency worker or health care entity.
(2) In any contract with an agency worker or health care entity, require payment of liquidated damages, employment fees, or other compensation if the agency worker is subsequently hired as a permanent employee of the health care entity.
b. This subsection shall not apply to a contract between a health care employment agency and an agency worker or a health care entity if the contract meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The contract is entered into for the purpose of placing an agency worker the health care employment agency assisted in obtaining authorization to work in the United States.
(2) The contract contains an initial duration term of not less than twenty-four months and a total duration term, including any renewals or extensions, of not more than thirty-six months.
(3) The contract requires the agency worker to work for a single health care entity for the entire duration of the contract.
c. Any contract that violates this subsection shall be unenforceable in court.
4. A health care employment agency shall submit a report to the department on a quarterly basis for each health care entity participating in Medicare or Medicaid with whom the agency contracts that includes all of the following by provider type:
a. A detailed list of the average amount charged to the health care entity for each individual agency worker category.
b. A detailed list of the average amount paid by the agency to agency workers in each individual agency worker category.
5. a. A health care employment agency that violates subsection 1 or subsection 2 is subject to denial or revocation of registration for a period of one year and a monetary penalty of five hundred dollars for a first offense and five thousand dollars for each offense thereafter.
b. A health care employment agency that violates subsection 3 or that knowingly provides an agency worker who has an illegally or fraudulently obtained or issued diploma, registration, license, certification, or background check to a health care entity is subject to immediate revocation of registration. The department shall notify the agency thirty days in advance of the date of such revocation.
c. (1) The managing entity of an agency for which registration has been denied or revoked under this subsection shall not be eligible to apply for or be granted registration for another agency during the two-year period following the date of the denial or revocation.
(2) The department shall not approve a new registration or renew an existing registration for any agency for which the managing entity is also the managing entity of an agency for which registration has been denied or revoked during the two-year period in which registration of the violating agency is denied or revoked.
6. The department shall establish a system for members of the public to report complaints against an agency or agency worker. The department shall investigate any complaint received and shall report the department’s findings to the complaining party and the agency involved.