HR 8347 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
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.
Summary
- Classifies qualified locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act.
- Defines qualified locum tenens professionals as individuals providing temporary physician or advanced care practitioner services for no more than one continuous year at a single site of service.
- Requires a written contract providing that the individual will not be treated as an employee for the temporary services.
- Applies to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants, and certified registered nurse anesthetists providing temporary staffing for workforce coverage, scheduling flexibility, or episodic staffing needs.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT)
1 cosponsor
Actions (4)
- Jul 21, 2026 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 15. · house
- Jul 21, 2026 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
- Apr 16, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. · house
- Apr 16, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
As published:Roll Call Vote #9 | H.R. 8347 | Motion to Report as Amended | Passed (18y-15n)
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
Full text
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 practitioner” means an individual who—
(1) provides temporary physician or advanced care practitioner services, including for workforce coverage, scheduling flexibility, or episodic staffing needs—
(A) for a period of not more than one continuous year at a single site of service; and
(B) pursuant to a written contract providing that the individual will not be treated as an employee with respect to such services; and
(2) is—
(A) a physician, as defined in—
(i) section 1861(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r)); or
(ii) section 8101(2) of title 5, United States Code; or
(B) a nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, or certified registered nurse anesthetist. <all>
Comments