(a)  Any person seeking employment in a nursing facility, a home nursing-care provider, hospice provider, or a home-care provider who is, or is required to be, licensed, registered, or certified with the department of health if that employment involves routine contact with a patient or resident without the presence of other employees, shall undergo a national criminal records check that shall include fingerprints submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general. The national criminal records check shall be initiated prior to, or within one week of, employment. All persons who, as of September 30, 2014, are already employed by a covered facility or provider and all persons who, as of such date, already provide services under this chapter, shall be exempted from the requirements of this section for purposes of their current employment only.

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(b)  The director of the department of health may, by rule, identify those positions requiring criminal records checks. The identified employee, through the employer, shall apply to the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general for a national criminal records check. Upon the discovery of any disqualifying information as defined in § 23-17-37 and, in accordance with the rule promulgated by the director of health, the bureau of criminal identification of the department attorney general will inform the applicant, in writing, of the nature of the disqualifying information; and, without disclosing the nature of the disqualifying information, will notify the employer, in writing, that disqualifying information has been discovered.

(c)  An employee against whom disqualifying information has been found may provide a copy of the national criminal records check to the employer who shall make a judgment regarding the continued employment of the employee.

(d)  In those situations in which no disqualifying information has been found, the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general shall inform the applicant and the employer, in writing, of this fact.

(e)  The employer shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the department of health, evidence that statewide criminal records checks have been initiated on all employees seeking employment between October 1, 1991, and September 30, 2014, and the results of the checks. Failure to maintain that evidence would be grounds to revoke the license or registration of the employer. The employer shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the department of health, evidence that national criminal records checks have been initiated on all employees seeking employment on or after October 1, 2014, and the results of those checks.

(f)  The employee shall be responsible for the cost of conducting the national criminal records check through the bureau of criminal identification of the department of attorney general.