Section 690.70  Standards For Nurse Agency Operation

a)         Each nurse agency shall have at least one supervising nurse serving as manager or supervisor of all nurses and certified nurse aides at all times for the duration of its licensure.  [225 ILCS 510/14(b)]

b)         Each nurse agency shall develop and maintain written personnel policies and procedures with regard to its nurses and certified nurse aides.  These policies and procedures must be available for Department inspection upon request in each location from which a nurse agency operates, and must be submitted to the Department upon request.  These policies and procedures must include the following:

1)         An in-person or videoconference interview of selected nurses or certified nurse aides, performed or supervised by a nurse or other supervisor;

2)         Reference checks of selected nurses or certified nurse aides:

A)        Every nurse agency shall check at least two recent references and dates of employment listed on the application unless the nurse or certified nurse aide has not had two previous employers;

B)        Reference checks may be in writing, in person or by telephone. The nurse agency shall keep a written record of these reference checks in the personnel file for a period of two years;

3)         A nurse agency shall verify with the Department of Public Health or the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), which may include using an IDFPR-approved third party verification resource, that selected nurses or certified nurse aides is certified or licensed in the State of Illinois as attested to on the employment application;

4)         An annual health examination to determine whether the nurse or certified nurse aide is free of communicable, contagious, or infectious diseases;

5)         An annual performance evaluation of each nurse or certified nurse aide; such evaluation must be maintained in the nurse's or certified nurse aide's personnel file for a period of three years;

6)         Required current CPR certification and vaccination records; and

7)         Orientation procedures.

c)         Background Checks

Prior to employing, assigning, or referring a certified nurse aide to a position at a health care employer or long-term care facility as defined in the Health Care Worker Background Check Act [225 ILCS 46], the nurse agency shall review the information provided on the Health Care Worker Registry to verify that the certified nurse aide is not ineligible for the position pursuant to Section 25 of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Records of such verification must be made available to the Department for inspection upon request.

d)         Covenants Not to Compete

1)         Temporary placements

A)        Nurse agencies shall not enter into covenants not to compete with nurses or certified nurse aides if the nurse agency is employing, assigning, or referring the employee to a health care facility on a temporary basis.

B)        If a nurse or certified nurse aide and a nurse agency entered into a covenant not to compete on or after July 1, 2022, then the covenant is illegal and void if the nurse or certified nurse aide is employed, assigned, referred by a nurse agency to a health care facility on a temporary basis.  [225 ILCS 510/14(g)]

2)         Long-term placements

A)        Nurse agencies may enter into covenants not to compete with nurses or certified nurse aides if the nurse agency is employing, assigning, or referring the employee to a health care facility on a long-term basis.  

B)        If a nurse or certified nurse aide and a nurse agency, on a long-term basis, entered into a covenant not to compete on or before December 31, 2027 and the covenant expires on or after January 1, 2028, the covenant shall remain in effect until its expiration date if the term of the covenant runs concurrently with the employment contract.  [225 ILCS 510/14(g-5)]

e)         Minimum Personnel Policy Training

Nurse agencies shall disclose to all employees, upon hire and prior to the effective date of any policy changes, information on the nurse agency's personnel policies and the requirements of the Act and this Part, including but not limited to the statutory restrictions on covenants not to compete and conversion fees, continuing education opportunities, and the responsibility to maintain an active health care license. Nurse agencies shall maintain records of such disclosures to each employee for the duration of that employee's employment and for at least three years after the employment ends.

f)         Responsibility for Compliance with Employment Requirements

For the purposes of the Act and this Part, nurses or certified nurse aides employed, assigned, or referred to a health care facility by a nurse agency shall be deemed to be employees of the nurse agency while working for the nurse agency or on nurse agency employment, assignment or referral.

g)         Termination Only For Cause

Nurses or certified nurse aides employed, assigned, or referred to a health care facility by a nurse agency may only be terminated by the nurse agency for cause. [225 ILCS 510.13]

h)         Responsibility for Compliance

A nurse agency must ensure each nurse or certified nurse aide the nurse agency employs, assigns, or refers meets all the requirements of the Act and this Part.

i)          Dispatch Notice

1)         A nurse agency shall provide at the time of dispatch, to each nurse or certified nurse aide who is sent to work for a health care facility, a written notice that contains the following information:

A)        the name of the nurse or certified nurse aide;

B)        the name, address, and telephone number of the health care facility that the nurse or certified nurse aide is being dispatched to;

C)        the name and title of the health care facility employee to whom the nurse or certified nurse aide is expected to report;

D)        the rate of pay offered; and

E)        the hours that the nurse or certified nurse aide is expected to work.

2)         If a nurse or certified nurse aide is assigned to the same assignment for more than one day, the nurse agency is only required to provide the dispatch notice on the first day of the assignment and on any day that any of the terms listed on the dispatch notice are changed.

3)         An agency that is required to register under both the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act and the Nurse Agency Licensing Act, and provides a dispatch notice under the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, is not required to provide a separate dispatch notice under this Section. 

j)          Wage Payment Notice

1)         At the time of payment of wages, a nurse agency shall provide the following information on the nurse or certified nurse aide's paycheck or pay stub, or on a form approved by the Department:

A)        the number of hours worked by the nurse or certified nurse aide at each health care facility each day during the pay period;

B)        the rate of payment for each hour worked, including any premium rate or bonus; and

C)        the total pay period earnings.

2)         An agency that is required to register under both the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act and the Nurse Agency Licensing Act, and provides a wage payment notice under the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, is not required to provide a separate wage payment notice under this Section. 

(Source:  Amended at 49 Ill. Reg. 6180, effective April 25, 2025)