Virginia Law

A. General denial. Application for affiliation or certification of individuals convicted of certain crimes present an unreasonable risk to public health and safety. Thus, applications for affiliation or certification by individuals convicted of the following crimes will be denied in all cases:

1. Felonies involving sexual misconduct where the victim's failure to affirmatively consent is an element of the crime, such as forcible rape.

2. Felonies involving the sexual or physical abuse of children, the elderly or the infirm, such as sexual misconduct with a child, making or distributing child pornography or using a child in a sexual display, incest involving a child, or assault on an elderly or infirm person.

3. Any crime in which the victim is an out-of-hospital patient or a patient or resident of a health care facility including abuse of, neglect of, theft from, or financial exploitation of a person entrusted to the care or protection of the applicant.

4. Serious crimes of violence against persons such as assault or battery with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault and battery, murder or attempted murder, manslaughter except involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping, robbery of any degree, or arson.

5. Has been subject to a permanent revocation of license or certification by another state EMS office or other recognized state or national health care provider licensing or certifying body.

B. Presumptive denial. Application for affiliation or current certification by individuals in the following categories will be denied except in extraordinary circumstances, and then will be granted only if the applicant or provider establishes by clear and convincing evidence that certification will not jeopardize public health and safety.

1. Application for affiliation or certification by individuals who have been convicted of any crime and who are currently incarcerated, on work release, on probation, or on parole.

2. Application for affiliation or certification by individuals convicted of crimes in the following categories unless at least five years have passed since the conviction or five years have passed since release from custodial confinement whichever occurs later:

a. Crimes involving controlled substances or synthetics, including unlawful possession or distribution or intent to distribute unlawfully Schedule I through V drugs as defined by the Virginia Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 seq. of the Code of Virginia).

b. Serious crimes against property, such as grand larceny, burglary, embezzlement, or insurance fraud.

c. Any other crime involving sexual misconduct.

3. Is currently under any disciplinary or enforcement action from another state EMS office or other recognized state or national healthcare provider licensing or certifying body. Personnel subject to these disciplinary or enforcement actions may be eligible for affiliation or certification provided there have been no further disciplinary or enforcement actions for five years prior to application for certification in Virginia.

C. Permitted vehicle operations. Agencies are responsible for the monitoring of compliance with all driving criteria set forth in these regulations.

1. Personnel operating OEMS permitted vehicles shall posses a valid operator's or driver's license from his state of residence.

2. Personnel operating OEMS permitted vehicles shall not have been convicted on any charge as described in subsections A and B of this section.

3. Personnel who as the proximate result of having operated an OEMS permitted vehicle are (i) convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or (ii) sentenced or assigned to any alcohol safety action program or any driver alcohol rehabilitation program pursuant to the Code of Virginia shall be prohibited from operating any OEMS permitted vehicle. Personnel or agencies shall be required to report these situations to OEMS.

4. Agencies shall develop and maintain policies that address driver eligibility, record review, and vehicle operation. Such policies must minimally address:

a. Driving education or training required for personnel to include information on the agency's policy content;

b. Safe operation of vehicles;

c. Agency driving record review procedures;

d. Requirement for immediate agency notification by personnel regarding any convictions, regardless of the state where an infraction occurred or changes to his operator's or driver's license. The immediate agency notification shall be defined as no more than 10 calendar days following the conviction date; and

e. Identification of internal mechanisms regarding agency level actions for driver penalties (i.e., probation or suspension of driving privileges).

D. All references to criminal acts or convictions under this section refer to substantially similar laws or regulations of any other state or the United States. Convictions include prior adult convictions, juvenile convictions and adjudications of delinquency based on an offense that would have been, at the time of conviction, a felony conviction if committed by an adult within or outside Virginia.

E. Agencies shall submit a report regarding items in this section to OEMS upon request.