H.R. 8347 — RURAL Healthcare Act

This section establishes that qualified locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners are independent contractors—not employees—under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA, which governs minimum wage, overtime, and child labor) and National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, which protects collective bargaining rights) when providing temporary physician or advanced care practitioner services to an entity, including as substitutes for other providers. Qualifying individuals are physicians (as defined in the Social Security Act or 5 U.S.C. §8101(2)), nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or certified registered nurse anesthetists who furnish such services for workforce coverage, scheduling flexibility, or episodic needs for no more than one continuous year at a single site pursuant to a written contract specifying non-employee status. (Thus, these providers are exempt from FLSA wage and hour requirements and NLRA unionization protections.)