RURAL Healthcare Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8347 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8347 To classify qualified locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners as independent contractors for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the National Labor Relations Act. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 16, 2026 Mr. Owens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To classify qualified locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners as independent contractors for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the National Labor Relations Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Reinforcing Underserved, Rural, and Local Healthcare Act'' or the ``RURAL Healthcare Act''. SEC. 2. CLASSIFICATION OF QUALIFIED LOCUM TENENS PROFESSIONALS AND ADVANCED CARE PRACTITIONERS AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS UNDER FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 AND NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT. (a) In General.--For the purposes of the following Federal laws, an individual who is a qualified locum tenens professional or advanced care practitioner shall not be considered an employee of the entity on behalf of which the individual furnishes physician or advanced care practitioner services on a temporary basis, whether or not provided as a substitute for another provider: (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). (2) The National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). (b) Qualified Locum Tenens Professional or Advanced Care Practitioner Defined.--In this section, the term ``qualified locum tenens professional or advanced care practi