(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Caregivers worked for months despite theft and abuse history [1]

['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2024-02-09

For several months in 2023, an Iowa nursing home employed an aide with a history of theft, and a hospice program employed a caregiver on a registry of known abusers.

State records indicate that in March 2022, Community Care Center of Stuart hired Justin Harlan to work in the facility as a dietary aide. In November 2023, the nursing home learned from local police that Harlan had outstanding warrants for his arrest due to alleged probation violations in the state of Arkansas.

The home’s management then contacted Arkansas authorities and allegedly learned that in 2018, Harlan had been convicted of felony theft by receipt of $25,000 or more, and that in 2022, after starting work at the Stuart facility, he had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Harlan was fired a short time later, with the company stating that because of his criminal record, state regulations barred him from working in an Iowa nursing home.

An administrative law judge recently presided over a hearing on Harlan’s application for unemployment benefits. The judge found that at the time of his hiring, Harlan had informed the care facility of his 2018 conviction. On the form where he was to provide specifics of the crimes, Harlan wrote “theft by receiving” but did not provide the location or date of conviction, and his application made no mention of having lived in Arkansas.

The employer ran a background check at the time, but only for criminal charges initiated in Iowa, and so the check showed no criminal history and Harlan was hired, Administrative Law Judge Stephanie Adkisson found.

Adkisson ruled recently that Harlan is entitled to unemployment benefits, noting that at the time of his hiring he had disclosed his one criminal conviction and “had made no attempt to hide his criminal background.” The home, Adkisson found, “did not follow up with (Harlan) to gather additional information relating to his criminal history, despite his disclosure of a conviction on the application.”

Former hospice worker awarded jobless benefits

In a similar case, an administrative law judge recently awarded benefits to a fired caregiver who had been working in hospice care while on a state registry of abusers.

Devon Hoose worked for Hillcrest Hospice, which has facilities both Iowa and Nebraska, from January 2023 to August 2023. According to state records, Hoose was fired four months after Hillcrest learned she was on Nebraska’s registry of abusers of the of elderly.

At her unemployment hearing, Hoose alleged that when she applied for work with Hillcrest she signed documents allowing the employer to check the abuse registries in both Iowa and Nebraska. Hillcrest alleged that due to some type of “glitch,” there was a period in which such searches were not performed by the company.

In April 2023, Hillcrest discovered Hoose was on the registry, but allowed her to continue working as she attempted, without success, to have her name expunged from the list. She was eventually fired as state law prohibited her from working in hospice care.

Administrative Law Judge Blair Bennett awarded Hoose unemployment benefits, noting that there was no evidence Hillcrest had asked Hoose whether she was on the registry. Hillcrest, Bennett said, had failed to perform its due diligence in the hiring process.

More unemployment case decisions

Other Iowa health care workers whose unemployment cases recently went before a judge include:

— Kyashia Chambers, who worked as an overnight shift leader for Four Oaks, an organization that provides housing and other services for children and families with special needs, since June 2021. As part of her job, Chambers was to travel between Four Oaks facilities during her shift and provide coverage for co-workers while they took meal breaks. In November 2023, Four Oaks allegedly discovered Chambers had not been going to the facilities as expected, and some facilities reported not seeing her at all.

After examining the GPS records from Chambers’ employer-owned vehicle, Four Oaks discovered chambers had been spending large portions of her shift at home, and that she had also been conducting personal business during work hours. Chambers allegedly admitted to the conduct and was fired. She was denied unemployment benefits.

— Joshua Russom, who worked as a nursing assistant for Sunrise Retirement Community in Sioux City from June 2015 until he was fired in November 2023. The home’s management allegedly captured video footage of Russom using his cell phone, which is prohibited by Sunrise policy, rather than supervising a resident as directed. The video allegedly showed the resident falling while Russom was using his phone. An administrative law judge ruled Russom was ineligible for unemployment benefits and ordered him to repay $2,139 already collected.

— Shannon Smith, who worked as a caregiver and medication manager at Oak Park Estates Assisted Living in Cedar Falls from February 2023 to November 2023 when she was fired for allegedly failing to treat residents with kindness and compassion. In August 2023, Smith had allegedly been given a final written warning pertaining to the way she spoke to residents and had demanded they say “please” and “thank you” to her.

In October 2023, Smith’s supervisor viewed a video that allegedly showed a resident losing her balance while walking with Smith. Smith allegedly put her hand on the woman’s face, turned the woman’s head and told her, “Look at your walker.” Smith was fired for rude and unkind behavior. She was denied unemployment benefits.

— Regina Jackson, who worked for Sequel Youth Services of Woodward from October 2020 through October 2023. She was fired after an incident that involved her being assigned to a client’s home while training a new employee. Jackson left work early that day without informing a supervisor, leaving the trainee – who was not authorized to pass medications – alone with the client.

Jackson had been given two prior warnings for issues related to trustworthiness. One of those incidents involved Jackson taking a client to a casino without the required authorization. An administrative law judge ruled Jackson was ineligible for unemployment benefits and ordered her to repay $4,914 already collected.

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[1] Url: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/02/09/caregivers-worked-for-months-despite-theft-and-abuse-history/

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