1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, a landlord of dwelling units intended and operated exclusively for persons 55 years of age and older may not employ any person who will work 36 hours or more per week and who will have access to all dwelling units to perform work on the premises unless the person has obtained a work card issued pursuant to subsection 2 by the sheriff of the county in which the dwelling units are located and renewed that work card as necessary.

2. The sheriff of a county shall issue a work card to each person who is required by this section to obtain a work card and who complies with the requirements established by the sheriff for the issuance of such a card. A work card issued pursuant to this section must be renewed:

(a) Every 5 years; and

(b) Whenever the person changes his or her employment to perform work for an employer other than the employer for which the person’s current work card was issued.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, if the sheriff of a county requires an applicant for a work card to be investigated:

(a) The applicant must submit with his or her application a complete set of his or her fingerprints and written permission authorizing the sheriff to forward the fingerprints to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its report.

(b) The sheriff shall submit the fingerprints to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine the criminal history of the applicant.

(c) The sheriff may issue a temporary work card pending the determination of the criminal history of the applicant by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

4. The sheriff of a county shall not require an investigation of the criminal history of an employee or independent contractor of an agency or facility governed by NRS 449.122 to 449.125, inclusive, and 449.174 who has had his or her fingerprints submitted to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History pursuant to NRS 449.123 for an investigation of his or her criminal history within the immediately preceding 6 months.

5. The sheriff shall not issue a work card to any person who:

(a) Has been convicted of a category A, B or C felony or of a crime in another state which would be a category A, B or C felony if committed in this State;

(b) Has been convicted of a sexual offense;

(c) Has been convicted of a crime against any person who is 60 years of age or older or against a vulnerable person for which an additional term of imprisonment may be imposed pursuant to NRS 193.167 or the laws of any other jurisdiction;

(d) Has been convicted of a battery punishable as a gross misdemeanor; or

(e) Within the immediately preceding 5 years:

(1) Has been convicted of a theft; or

(2) Has been convicted of a violation of any state or federal law regulating the possession, distribution or use of a controlled substance.

6. The following persons are not required to obtain a work card pursuant to this section:

(a) A person who holds a permit to engage in property management pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS.

(b) An independent contractor. As used in this paragraph, “independent contractor” means a person who performs services for a fixed price according to the person’s own methods and without subjection to the supervision or control of the landlord, except as to the results of the work, and not as to the means by which the services are accomplished.

(c) An offender in the course and scope of his or her employment in a work program directed by the warden, sheriff, administrator or other person responsible for administering a prison, jail or other detention facility.

(d) A person performing work through a court-assigned restitution or community-service program.

7. If the sheriff does not issue a work card to a person because the information received from the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History indicates that the person has been convicted of a crime listed in subsection 5 and the person believes that the information provided by the Central Repository is incorrect, the person may immediately inform the sheriff. If the sheriff is so informed, the sheriff shall give the person at least 30 days in which to correct the information before terminating the temporary work card issued pursuant to subsection 3.

8. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “Sexual offense” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 179D.097.

(b) “Vulnerable person” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 200.5092.

(Added to NRS by 2003, 1250; A 2007, 1264; 2009, 154)