124 STAT. 801 PUBLIC LAW 111–148—MAR. 23, 2010 ‘‘(A) the covered individual shall be subject to a civil money penalty of not more than $300,000; and ‘‘(B) the Secretary may make a determination in the same proceeding to exclude the covered individual from participation in any Federal health care program (as defined in section 1128B(f)). ‘‘(3) EXCLUDED INDIVIDUAL.—During any period for which a covered individual is classified as an excluded individual under paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(B), a long-term care facility that employs such individual shall be ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. ‘‘(4) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may take into account the financial burden on providers with underserved popu- lations in determining any penalty to be imposed under this subsection. ‘‘(B) UNDERSERVED POPULATION DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘underserved population’ means the population of an area designated by the Secretary as an area with a shortage of elder justice programs or a popu- lation group designated by the Secretary as having a short- age of such programs. Such areas or groups designated by the Secretary may include— ‘‘(i) areas or groups that are geographically isolated (such as isolated in a rural area); ‘‘(ii) racial and ethnic minority populations; and ‘‘(iii) populations underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alien status, or age). ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES FOR RETALIATION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A long-term care facility may not— ‘‘(A) discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or deny a promotion or other employment-related benefit to an employee, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because of lawful acts done by the employee; or ‘‘(B) file a complaint or a report against a nurse or other employee with the appropriate State professional dis- ciplinary agency because of lawful acts done by the nurse or employee, for making a report, causing a report to be made, or for taking steps in furtherance of making a report pursuant to subsection (b)(1). ‘‘(2) PENALTIES FOR RETALIATION.—If a long-term care facility violates subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) the facility shall be subject to a civil money penalty of not more than $200,000 or the Secretary may classify the entity as an excluded entity for a period of 2 years pursuant to section 1128(b), or both. ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO POST NOTICE.—Each long-term care facility shall post conspicuously in an appropriate location a sign (in a form specified by the Secretary) specifying the rights of employees under this section. Such sign shall include a statement that an employee may file a complaint with the Secretary against a long-term care facility that violates the provisions of this subsection and information with respect to the manner of filing such a complaint.
