Section 15.146. Provisional hiring

(a) Facilities may employ applicants on a provisional basis for a single period not to exceed 30 days for applicants requesting a State Police criminal history record, and a single period not to exceed 90 days for applicants requesting a Federal criminal history record, if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) Applicants shall have applied for a criminal history report and provided the facility with a copy of the completed request forms.

(2) The facility shall have no knowledge about the applicant that would disqualify the applicant from employment under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4911 (relating to tampering with public record information).

(3) The applicant shall swear or affirm in writing that the applicant is not disqualified from employment under the act.

(4) The provisionally employed applicant shall receive an orientation which provides information on policies, procedures and laws which address standards of proper care and recognition and reporting of abuse or neglect, or both, of recipients.

(5) The facility shall regularly supervise the applicant carrying out assigned duties. The results of the observations shall be documented in the employee personnel file.

(6) A home health care agency shall supervise the applicant through random, direct observation and evaluation of the applicant and care recipient by an employee who has been employed by the home health agency for at least 1 year. The results of the observations shall be documented in the employee personnel file.

(7) A home health agency which has been in business for less than 1 year shall supervise the applicant through random, direct observation and evaluation of the applicant and care recipient by an employee with prior employment experience of at least 1 year with one or more other home health care agencies. The results of the observations shall be documented in the employee personnel file.

(b) If the information obtained from the criminal history report reveals that the applicant is disqualified from employment in accordance with § 15.143 (relating to facility responsibilities), the applicant shall be dismissed immediately.

(c) The administrator or designee shall review the contents of the applicant’s personnel file on the 30th day of provisional employment of a Pennsylvania resident applicant or the 90th day of provisional employment of a nonresident applicant to insure that the copy of the State Police criminal history record, the letter of determination issued by the Department, or both is physically present in the folder along with correspondence from the State Police advising that the applicant’s employment may be continued or must be terminated.

(d) Except as provided in subsection (e), if inspection of the file reveals that the State Police criminal history record, the letter of determination issued by the Department, or both has not been provided to the employer, the applicant’s employment shall be immediately suspended or terminated.

(e) If the criminal history record report, the letter of determination issued by the Department, or both, has not been provided due to the inability of the State Police or the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide them timely, the period of provisional employment shall be extended until the facility receives the required reports. During the extended provisional employment period, the supervision and documentation requirements of this section shall be continued.

The provisions of this § 15.146 adopted May 17, 2002, effective May 18, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 2412.

Notation

Cross References

This section cited in 6 Pa. Code § 15.41 (relating to reports required to be investigated); and 6 Pa. Code § 15.147 (relating to violations).