Bill Text: NJ S3166 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns registration and operation of temporary nurse staffing agencies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [S3166 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3166-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns registration and operation of temporary nurse staffing agencies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning registration and operation of temporary nurse staffing agencies and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Department" means the Department of Health and Senior Services.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Division" means the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Temporary nurse staffing agency" means any person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or association that is engaged for hire in the business of providing temporary nurse or nurse aide services to a health care facility, but does not include an individual solely offering personal temporary nursing services.
"Temporary nurse" means an individual employed and credentialed properly in the State as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified nurse assistant, medication aide, therapist, or therapist aide.
2. a. A temporary nurse staffing agency shall annually register with the division.
b. Not later than July 1, 2024, the director shall implement a process to effectuate the purpose of subsection a. of this section.
c. The director may establish reasonable fees for registration application and renewal, and administrative actions in an amount sufficient to defray the division's expenses incurred in administering and enforcing this act.
d. No temporary nurse staffing agency shall provide temporary nurse or nurse aide services in the State unless registered pursuant to this act.
3. a. A temporary nurse staffing agency shall ensure that each temporary nurse assigned to a third-party client is currently credentialed by the appropriate State board, committee, or other entity to perform all responsibilities within the scope of practice of the profession in which the temporary nurse is credentialed.
b. (1) A temporary nurse staffing agency's maximum rate for services provided to a licensed health care facility by a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or certified nurse assistant shall not exceed 150 percent of the regional hourly wage of each position.
(2) The maximum rate noted in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include all charges for administrative fees, contract fees, or other special fees in addition to the hourly rates for the temporary nurses assigned to a third-party client.
(3) The director shall use and publish on the Internet website of the division the most current median hourly wage data reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics wage estimates for the State. The positions for which wage data are to be published shall include the professions captured in the temporary nurse definition.
(4) A third-party client of a temporary nurse staffing agency may file a complaint with the division any time the third-party client believes the staffing agency has charged fees in excess of the statutory limits set forth in this section.
c. The temporary nurse staffing agency shall maintain insurance coverage for workers' compensation for all temporary nurses provided or procured by the staffing agency.
d. Records of violations of State or local health codes by all temporary nurse staffing agency employees shall be tracked by staffing agency and reported to the division within 10 days of receipt of the violation notice.
e. The division, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Senior Services, shall utilize the records of violations reported pursuant to subsection d. of this section to develop standards for temporary nurse staffing agencies and a ranking formula to track all agencies for public accountability.
f. If an employee of a temporary nurse staffing agency is directly connected to a quality of care or a substandard quality of care deficiency in a facility, an investigation by the director or appropriate State entity shall be conducted at the temporary nurse staffing agency in which that individual is employed.
4. a. No temporary nurse staffing agency shall recruit potential temporary nurses from a third-party client to which it actively provides services in any contract.
b. A temporary nurse staffing agency shall not, in any contract with any temporary nurse assigned to a third-party client, prohibit the temporary nurse from being hired by a client facility or require the payment of liquidated damages, employment fees, or other compensation should the temporary nurse be hired as a permanent employee of a client facility.
5. a. A temporary nurse staffing agency shall maintain auditable records including, but not limited to:
(1) The mean, median, and average salaries and hourly pay rates of temporary nurses by employment type to include:
(a) the number of temporary nurses;
(b) the number of temporary nurses terminated;
(c) the number of temporary nurses reported to the New Jersey Board of Nursing, Department of Health and Senior Services, or Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly; and
(d) the number of temporary nurses reported to the department for abuse, neglect, misappropriation, and job abandonment.
(2) For every temporary nurse placed for employment, or temporary performance of services by an employment agency with a healthcare provider employer, the temporary nurse staffing agency shall maintain an auditable record that includes:
(a) the amount charged for each temporary nurse;
(b) the amount paid to each temporary nurse; and
(c) the amount of payment received that is retained by the temporary nurse staffing agency.
b. A temporary nurse staffing agency shall make available to the director upon request records maintained pursuant to this section.
6. The director shall impose a monetary penalty in an amount the director deems appropriate upon a temporary nurse staffing agency that violates the provisions of this act.
7. Within 160 days of enactment the division, in consultation with the department, shall promulgate registration standards, and rules and regulations governing the operation of temporary nurse staffing agencies to protect the health and welfare of patients. These regulations shall include, but not be limited to, employee bonding, maintenance of service records, appropriate staff professional registration and certification, licensure training, supervision, health screening, and liability insurance.
8. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires temporary nurse staffing agencies that provide temporary nurses to licensed health care facilities to register annually as a nurse staffing agency with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
The bill requires a temporary nurse staffing agency to ensure that temporary nurses are properly credentialed and caps service rates at 150 percent of the regional hourly wage, as determined by the most current U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics wage estimates. Temporary nurse staffing agencies are required to maintain workers' compensation insurance and to report any violations of State or local health codes.
Under the bill, temporary nurse staffing agencies are prohibited from recruiting employees from client facilities and from including contract terms that restrict employees from being hired by a client facility or impose penalties for that employment.
Additionally, the bill provides criteria for detailed, auditable records of salaries, pay rates, employee status, charges related to personnel placement, employee terminations, reports to health and nursing boards, and cases of abuse, neglect, or job abandonment. These records are required to be made available to the director upon request.
Finally, the bill provides for monetary penalties for violations of the bill's provisions. The division, in consultation with the Department of Health and Senior Services, is required to promulgate licensure standards and regulations for nurse staffing agencies within 160 days of enactment.
