Georgia House Bill HB991

Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/15/26
• Report Pass: 1/29/26

Caption

Labor and industrial relations; definition of employment for certain services performed by certain healthcare technology platform contractors; provisions

Summary

HB 991 creates a narrow exception in Georgia’s employment-security laws for certain healthcare workers who obtain shifts through a healthcare technology platform. The bill amends the definition of “employment” in Title 34 so that healthcare or directly related services performed at a healthcare facility by a contractor using a platform company’s app or online system are excluded from employment classification, so long as the company has a written contract that meets specified independence-related conditions. Those conditions are designed to preserve contractor status. The platform company may not set required hours or minimum availability, force acceptance of specific shifts, bar workers from using other healthcare platforms except during an assigned shift, restrict other lawful work, require particular equipment, control the means and methods of the work, or charge a fee if a contractor later accepts employment with the facility. The bill also defines covered facilities and platform companies, and it requires platform companies to maintain general and professional liability insurance for contractors while they are performing covered services.

Impact

The bill would amend Georgia’s unemployment/employment-security statute in Title 34 by adding a specific carve-out for healthcare technology platform contractors. In practice, this would affect how certain workers are classified for purposes of employment law, limiting the circumstances under which platform-facilitated healthcare shifts are treated as employment and thereby potentially affecting unemployment insurance and related labor-law obligations. It also imposes an insurance requirement on platform companies that facilitate these services.

Sentiment

The available record does not include committee debate or recorded votes, so there is no direct transcript-based evidence of support or opposition. Based on the bill text, the measure appears aimed at accommodating flexible staffing models in healthcare while preserving some worker protections through contract requirements and insurance coverage. The overall framing suggests a policy effort to balance access to on-demand healthcare staffing with limits on platform control.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely worker classification: the bill creates an exception that keeps certain healthcare platform contractors outside the normal definition of employment, which may be viewed as beneficial for staffing flexibility by platform companies and healthcare facilities, but potentially concerning to labor advocates or workers who favor employee protections. Specific restrictions on platform control, shift acceptance, outside work, and fees for direct hire indicate the bill is trying to draw a line between independent contracting and employment, and those boundaries are where disputes would most likely arise. The insurance mandate may also be a point of discussion because it adds a protection requirement while still preserving contractor status.