Iowa Admin. Code r. 661-29.5

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, August 21, 2024

Rule 661-29.5 - Certification for lodging providers and their employees

Beginning January 1, 2022, lodging providers, in order to accept public funds for any of the purposes stated in Iowa Code section 80.45A(5)"c," must complete and certify to the commissioner that each of the lodging provider's employees has completed human trafficking prevention training. All current, certified lodging providers are listed on the office to combat human trafficking website.

(1)Application. Any lodging provider seeking certification of completed human trafficking prevention training shall submit a completed application form to the office to combat human trafficking website. The online application form shall not be considered complete unless all required information is submitted, including verification of employee training certificates, and shall not be processed until it is complete.

Note: The website for human trafficking prevention training and certification for employees, lodging providers, and training providers is www.stophtiowa.org.

(2)Fee. There is no fee for lodging providers to request or renew a trafficking prevention training certification. Approved organizational training providers, under subrule 29.4(2), may charge fees for training programs; however, lodging providers are under no obligation to utilize such training providers.

(3)Maintenance of records. Lodging providers shall maintain up-to-date human trafficking prevention training certification records on all current employees, at all times, in order to maintain a valid certification. A lodging provider shall produce human trafficking prevention training records for each employee and complete employee lists upon request by the office to combat human trafficking at any time.

(4)Revocation. The commissioner has authorized the office to combat human trafficking to revoke a lodging provider's certification at any time. If all employees of a certified lodging provider fail to renew their trainings every three years, the office to combat human trafficking shall remove the lodging provider from the approved list of providers and revoke the lodging provider's certification. Failure to maintain records of individual employee certifications may result in the revocation of a lodging provider's certification.

(5)Certification expiration. All human trafficking prevention training certificates issued by the office to combat human trafficking shall bear an expiration date. All employees of a certified lodging provider must complete approved human trafficking prevention training every three years for the lodging provider to maintain a valid certification and to receive public funds.

(6)Grace periods. Lodging providers are responsible for ensuring lodging certifications are current and valid, and that new employees successfully complete human trafficking prevention training. Employees shall have a grace period of 30 days from when their previous training certificate expires to complete a new, approved training. Certificates expire three years from the date on which they were issued.

a. Lodging providers. The application shall be filed no later than 30 days after beginning operation in this state or the date on which an existing training certification expires.

b. Employees of lodging providers. The application shall be filed no later than 30 days after the date of hire or the date on which an existing training certification expires.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 661-29.5

Adopted by IAB October 20, 2021/Volume XLIV, Number 8, effective 11/24/2021