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What Disqualifies You From Working at a Nursing Home?
Date Updated: December 20, 2024
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Sarah has produced thousands of articles in diverse niches over her decade-long career as a full-time freelance writer. This includes substantial content in the fields of senior care and health care. She has experience writing about wide-ranging topics, such as types of care, care costs, funding options, state Medicaid programs and senior resources.
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Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
Nursing homes house vulnerable individuals, so they use strict employment criteria to ensure the suitability of applicants and the safety and well-being of their residents. Find out how federal laws, state regulations, and community policies ensure staff suitability.
What Disqualifies You From Working at a Nursing Home?
Certain factors, including criminal convictions and misconduct, can disqualify you from working at a nursing home. You must have the physical and mental capabilities to perform necessary duties and hold the required qualifications for certain posts. Recruitment criteria vary among states and facilities.
Qualifications to Work in a Nursing Home
Some nursing home roles require specific licenses or certifications, and not obtaining or maintaining these disqualifies applicants. For example, the State Boards of Nursing govern mandatory nurse qualifications and licensing. Certification of nursing aides also occurs at the state level. The relevant state regulatory agencies license and oversee other professionals, such as:
- Speech-language therapists
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Dietitians
- Medical social workers
Other Laws Related to Nursing Home Employment
Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations forbids nursing homes that accept federal funding from employing anyone with specified convictions, disciplinary actions, or findings in the state’s Nurse Aide Registry. Prohibited actions include:
- Abuse
- Exploitation
- Neglect
- Mistreatment
- Misappropriation of property
The U.S. Code encourages states to perform background screenings. While some jurisdictions require FBI checks alongside state-level investigations for direct-contact staff members, others only require state registry checks. For example, Tennessee requires nursing homes to search through abuse and sex offender registries in all states where the individual resided over the past seven years. State laws may disqualify individuals with certain convictions from working in nursing homes. For instance, in Texas, convictions for crimes such as murder, kidnapping, robbery, and arson are grounds for disqualification, and some states, such as Delaware, also require mandatory drug testing.
Facility Employment Criteria
Because nursing homes must ensure residents' safety, well-being, and comfort, most facilities have strict employment criteria, often imposing harsher conditions than legally required. Many won’t hire people with serious criminal convictions. Some facilities require pre-employment drug testing, even when not mandated by state regulations; however, they must comply with relevant legislation surrounding how, when, and why they perform substance screening.
Additionally, recruiters often reject applicants with negative feedback from past employers, especially regarding conduct and resident care. Nursing homes might also insist on additional training or experience on top of minimum state standards.