SECTIONS 1812.524-1812.533 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 1812.524-1812.533

1812.524. (a) "Nursing service" means the assignment of a nurse, as
a private duty, self-employed, licensed registered nurse, licensed
vocational nurse, or practical nurse to render service to a patient
under the direction or supervision of a physician or surgeon
registered to practice in this state.
(b) "Nurses' registry" means a person who engages in the business
of obtaining and filling commitments for nursing service. A nurses'
registry which makes or plans to make referrals for nurses'
employment other than private duty nursing shall comply with Chapters
1 (commencing with Section 1812.500) and 2 (commencing with Section
1812.503) of this title with respect to those referrals.
(c) "Private duty nurse" means a self-employed nurse rendering
service in the care of either a physically or mentally ill patient
under the direction of a physician or surgeon, but who is paid by
either the patient or the designated agent of the patient and who
accepts the responsibilities of a self-employed private contractor.

1812.525. (a) Every nurses' registry subject to this title shall
maintain a bond issued by a surety company admitted to do business in
this state. The principal sum of the bond shall be three thousand
dollars ($3,000). A copy of the bond shall be filed with the
Secretary of State.
(b) The bond required by this section shall be in favor of, and
payable to, the people of the State of California, and shall be
conditioned that the person obtaining the bond will comply with this
title and will pay all sums due any individual or group of
individuals when the person or his or her representative, agent, or
employee has received those sums. The bond shall be for the benefit
of any person or persons damaged by any violation of this title or by
fraud, dishonesty, misstatement, misrepresentation, deceit, unlawful
acts or omissions, or failure to provide the services of the nurses'
registry in performance of the contract with the nurse by the nurses'
registry or its agents, representatives, or employees while acting
within the scope of their employment.
(c) (1) No nurses' registry shall conduct any business without
having a current surety bond in the amount prescribed by this title
and filing a copy of the bond with the Secretary of State.
(2) Thirty days prior to the cancellation or termination of any
surety bond required by this section, the surety shall send a written
notice of that cancellation or termination to both the nurses'
registry and the Secretary of State, identifying the bond and the
date of cancellation or termination.
(3) If any nurses' registry fails to obtain a new bond and file a
copy of that bond with the Secretary of State by the effective date
of the cancellation or termination of the former bond, the nurses'
registry shall cease to conduct any business unless and until a new
surety bond is obtained and a copy of that bond is filed with the
Secretary of State.
(d) When a deposit has been made in lieu of a bond pursuant to
Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the person asserting
a claim against the deposit shall, in lieu of Section 996.430 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, establish the claim by furnishing evidence
to the Secretary of State of a money judgment entered by a court
together with evidence that the claimant is a person described in
subdivision (b).
(e) When a person has established the claim with the Secretary of
State, the Secretary of State shall review and approve the claim and
enter the date of approval on the claim. The claim shall be
designated an "approved claim."
(f) When the first claim against a particular deposit has been
approved, it shall not be paid until the expiration of a period of
240 days after the date of its approval by the Secretary of State.
Subsequent claims that are approved by the Secretary of State within
the same 240-day period shall similarly not be paid until the
expiration of the 240-day period. Upon the expiration of the 240-day
period, the Secretary of State shall pay all approved claims from
that 240-day period in full unless the deposit is insufficient, in
which case each approved claim shall be paid a pro rata share of the
deposit.
(g) When the Secretary of State approves the first claim against a
particular deposit after the expiration of a 240-day period, the
date of approval of that claim shall begin a new 240-day period to
which subdivision (f) shall apply with respect to the amount
remaining in the deposit.
(h) After a deposit is exhausted, no further claims shall be paid
by the Secretary of State. Claimants who have had their claims paid
in full or in part pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g) shall not be
required to return funds received from the deposit for the benefit of
other claimants.
(i) When a deposit has been made in lieu of a bond, the amount of
the deposit shall not be subject to attachment, garnishment, or
execution with respect to an action or judgment against the nurses'
registry, other than as to an amount as no longer needed or required
for the purpose of this title that would otherwise be returned to the
nurses' registry by the Secretary of State.
(j) The Secretary of State shall retain a cash deposit for two
years from the date the Secretary of State receives written
notification from the assignor of the deposit that the assignor has
ceased to engage in the business of a nurses' registry or has filed a
bond pursuant to subdivision (a), provided that there are no
outstanding claims against the deposit. The written notice to the
Secretary of State shall include all of the following: (1) name,
address, and telephone number of the assignor; (2) name, address, and
telephone number of the bank at which the deposit is located; (3)
account number of the deposit; and (4) a statement whether the
assignor is ceasing to engage in the business of a nurses' registry
or has filed a bond with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of
State shall forward an acknowledgment of receipt of the written
notice to the assignor at the address indicated therein, specifying
the date of receipt of the written notice and anticipated date of
release of the deposit, provided there are no outstanding claims
against the deposit.
(k) A judge of a superior court may order the return of the
deposit prior to the expiration of two years upon evidence
satisfactory to the judge that there are no outstanding claims
against the deposit or order the Secretary of State to retain the
deposit for a specified period beyond the two years pursuant to
subdivision (j) to resolve outstanding claims against the deposit.
(l) The Secretary of State shall charge a filing fee not to exceed
the cost of filing the bond or deposit filed in lieu of a bond
pursuant to Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(m) The Secretary of State shall enforce the provisions of this
chapter that govern the filing and maintenance of bonds and deposits
in lieu of bonds.

1812.526. Nurses' registries may enter into a continuing contract
with private duty nurses covering the assignment of those nurses by
the nurses' registries. The continuing contract shall state:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the nurses'
registry.
(b) The name, address, and telephone number of the nurse.
(c) The current fee schedule of the nurses' registry.
(d) The date of its execution by the nurses' registry and the
nurse.
(e) The contract shall specify that the provisions thereof are to
govern only the assignment of private duty nurses and shall do all of
the following:
(1) Designate the nurses' registry as the continuous agent of the
nurse for purposes of assignment.
(2) Provide that the contract in effect may be terminated at any
time by written notice given by one to the other for any future
assignment.
(3) Provide for delivery to the nurse at the time of the execution
of the contract a written schedule of the rates of nurses' charges
currently agreed to between the nurses' registry and the nurse for
the nurse's services to the patient.
(4) State that the nurses' registry will immediately notify the
nurse in writing of all subsequent changes in the rates to be charged
the patient for services, and that the nurse shall agree to abide by
these rates.
(5) Contain express undertakings by the nurses' registry that it
shall continuously maintain true and correct records of orders and
assignments as provided in this title.
(6) Provide that the nurses' registry shall periodically and at
least once each month render to the nurse a written statement of all
fees claimed to be due the nurses' registry, and further that the
statement shall adequately identify each assignment as to the
inception date and period of service covered by the claim, including
the name of the patient and the amount of service fee claimed.
(7) Contain appropriate wording advising the nurse of his or her
right to dispute the correctness of any service fee claimed by the
nurses' registry in the written statement referred to above, and that
in the absence of objections within a reasonable time, any such
service fee may be presumed to be correctly charged.
(8) Include any other term, condition, or understanding agreed
upon between the nurses' registry and the nurse.
(f) Each contract shall be numbered consecutively in original and
duplicate, both to be signed by the nurse and the nurses' registry.
The original shall be given to the nurse and the duplicate shall be
kept on file at the nurses' registry within the nurse's records.
(g) The full agreement between the parties shall be contained in a
single document containing those elements set forth in this section.

1812.527. (a) (1) A nurses' registry shall provide a copy of the
registry's fee schedule and payment terms to any nurse from whom a
fee or deposit is to be received, prior to the nurse being
interviewed by the registry.
(2) In the schedule, the maximum fee shall be fixed and shall
include the charges of every kind rendered by the nurses' registry in
each case or transaction on behalf of the nurse. Changes in the fee
schedule may be made, but no change shall become effective until
posted for not less than seven days in a conspicuous place in the
nurses' registry.
(3) A copy of the schedule in effect shall be kept posted in the
nurses' registry in a conspicuous place, and the posted schedule and
the changes therein shall be in lettering or printing of not less
than standard pica capitals. The date of the taking effect of the
schedule and of each change therein shall appear on the posted
copies.
(4) A copy of all fee schedules, and of all changes therein, shall
be kept on file at the nurses' registry, retrospectively for a
period of one year.

1812.528. It shall be the duty of the nurses' registry to verify in
writing the claims as to the experience or training listed on the
application and to keep a file of those records in the nurse's folder
within the nurses' registry. It shall also be the duty of the person
interviewing the jobseeker to require the jobseeker to exhibit his
or her license as issued by the Board of Registered Nursing or the
Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technician Examiners, with
a notation to be made on the application by the interviewer that the
license has been inspected and the date of expiration of the license.

1812.529. Each nurses' registry shall continuously maintain in its
offices true and correct permanent log sheets and other records which
shall disclose, in addition to the other information required, the
date and hour of the receipt by the nurses' registry of each order
for a private duty nurse, and the date and hour of the making or
giving of each assignment to the nurse by the nurses' registry, the
name of the nurse assigned, the name of the patient and the address
where the nurse is assigned, the name of the attending physician, the
date the assignment is to start, the period of actual service for
each assignment, and the amount of the fee charged for each
assignment. No nurses' registry, his or her agent or employees, shall
make any false entry in those records. The nurses' registry shall
maintain the log sheets and records required by this section
respectively for a period of one year.

1812.530. (a) No nurses' registry shall accept, directly or
indirectly, a registration fee of any kind.
(b) No nurses' registry may take from a nurse a confession of
judgment, or promissory note, or an assignment of wages to cover its
fees.

1812.531. No nurses' registry shall divide fees with any physician
and surgeon, nurse, hospital, patient, or any agent or employee of
any of these.

1812.532. In the event that a nurses' registry collects from a
nurse a fee or expenses for an assignment, and the nurse fails to
obtain the assignment, or the nurse fails to be paid for the
assignment, the nurses' registry shall upon demand therefor, repay to
the nurse the fee and expenses so collected. Unless repayment is
made within 48 hours after demand, the nurses' registry shall pay to
the nurse an additional sum equal to the amount of the fee.

1812.533. (a) No nurses' registry shall make, or cause to be made,
any false, misleading, or deceptive advertisements or representations
concerning the services that registry will provide to nurses.
(b) (1) No nurses' registry shall publish or cause to be published
any false, fraudulent, or misleading information, representation,
notice, or advertisements.
(2) All advertisements of a nurses' registry shall contain the
correct name of the nurses' registry and one of the following:
(A) The street address of the registry's place of business.
(B) The correct telephone number of the registry at its place of
business.
(3) No nurses' registry shall give any false information or make
any false promises or representations concerning an assignment or
employment to any nurse who registers or applies for an assignment or
employment.
(4) No nurses' registry shall, by its name, advertisement, or any
other representation, represent itself to be a home health agency, as
defined by subdivision (a) of Section 1727 of the Health and Safety
Code, or to perform the services of a home health agency. A nurses'
registry shall provide a written disclosure to each individual
receiving nursing services, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
1812.524, in his or her place of residence stating that it does not
perform the services of a home health agency and clearly describing
that it is a nurses' registry only and that any complaints against
licensed personnel providing a nursing service shall be brought to
the local district attorney and the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The address and telephone number of each agency and board to which
complaints are required to be submitted shall be provided to all
patients prior to the time they are under the care of any nursing
services personnel.
(5) Any person may refer complaints concerning nurses' registries
to the proper law enforcement agency for action.
(c) Every nurses' registry shall maintain a record of all
advertisements, correlated to show the date and the publication in
which the advertisement appeared, retrospectively for a period of one
year.