(a) Before an applicant can become an employee, an employer or DR must:
  (1) obtain the applicant's information required on the Criminal History and Registry Checks Form 1725 to conduct a criminal history background check through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) secure online website;
  (2) sign the certification section on Form 1725 acknowledging that criminal history records and reports include confidential information that must not be shared, released, or otherwise disclosed, under penalty of law; and
  (3) request that the FMSA obtain the criminal history report from the secure online DPS Criminal History Conviction Database website.
(b) If the employer or DR asks the FMSA to send the criminal history report to the employer or DR, the employer or DR must receive the original criminal history report sent by the FMSA, using a DPS-approved secure method of dissemination, before hiring the applicant.
(c) A criminal history report must be dated no more than 30 calendar days before the applicant's date of hire.
(d) An employer or DR must not hire an applicant or retain an employee who:
  (1) has a criminal history that indicates the applicant or employee has been convicted of an offense included in Texas Health and Safety Code (THSC), §250.006(a); or
  (2) has a criminal history that indicates the applicant or employee has been convicted of an offense included in THSC, §250.006(b) within the previous five years.
(e) An employer or DR must retain a copy of Form 1725 completed as described in subsection (a)(2) of this section for each employee in accordance with record retention requirements described in §41.243 of this chapter (relating to Record Retention).
(f) An employer or DR, within five calendar days after making the hiring decision, must destroy the criminal history record documents obtained from DPS for all applicants, whether or not hired or retained by the employer or DR, as described in subsection (a)(3) of this section as follows:
  (1) for paper records, shredding, pulping, or burning; and
  (2) for electronic records, destroying the media or using specialized software to copy over the data.
(g) An employer or DR may, at any time, obtain or request that the FMSA obtain an updated criminal history report for a current employee.
(h) Within five calendar days after receiving a criminal history report from the FMSA under subsection (g) of this section, the employer or DR must destroy the report using a method described in subsection (f) of this section.
(i) An employer or DR must immediately terminate an employee if an updated criminal history report indicates that the employee has been convicted of an offense included in THSC, §250.006(a), or the employee has been convicted of an offense included in THSC, §250.006(b) within the previous five years.
(j) The cost of obtaining a criminal history report must be budgeted by the employer or DR in accordance with §41.507(d)(2) of this chapter (relating to Employer Support Services Budgeting) and be paid as an employer support service expenditure, except for the report of an applicant or current employee who is:
  (1) only providing CFC PAS/HAB; or
  (2) providing support consultation to an individual who is receiving only CFC PAS/HAB through the CDS option.
(k) When contracting with an entity, the employer or DR and the entity must complete a service agreement in which the entity certifies that the entity has checked and verified that each person delivering a service to the individual on behalf of the entity has not been convicted of an offense listed in THSC, §250.006(a), or an offense listed in THSC, §250.006(b) within the previous five years.

Source Note: The provisions of this §41.225 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 10352; amended to be effective July 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 3990; amended to be effective March 20, 2016, 41 TexReg 1925