---
title: HB 991. Labor and industrial relations; definition of employment for certain services performed by certain healthcare technology platform contractors; provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb991
cite_as: HB 991, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb991
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb991.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb991/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72258
date: 2026-01-29
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 199
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb991.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 991
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-15
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Todd Jones
- Viola Davis
- Victor Anderson
- Rick Townsend
- Carter Barrett
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB991/2025
upstream_id: 2083538
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- healthcare staffing apps
- gig worker classification
- unemployment insurance law
- hospital staffing
- labor law
---
# HB 991. Labor and industrial relations; definition of employment for certain services performed by certain healthcare technology platform contractors; provisions
## Text
The House Committee on Industry and Labor offers the following substitute to HB 991:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial
relations, so as to provide for an exception to the definition of employment for certain
services performed by certain healthcare technology platform contractors utilizing a
healthcare technology platform company's application or platform to facilitate such services;
to provide for conditions; to require healthcare technology platform companies to maintain
certain insurance coverage; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to
provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations,
is amended in Article 2 of Chapter 8, relating to definitions relative to employment security,
by adding a new paragraph to subsection (n) of Code Section 34-8-35, relating to
employment, to read as follows:
"(16.2)(A) Healthcare or directly related services performed at a healthcare facility in
this state by a healthcare technology platform contractor facilitated through a healthcare
technology platform company's application or platform, provided that such company
has a written contract with such contractor, with which such company is in compliance,
that expressly provides that such company shall not:
(i) Unilaterally prescribe specific dates, times of day, or a minimum number of hours
during which an individual is required to be available to provide services;
(ii) Terminate such contract for not accepting, and shall not require an individual to
accept, any specific service or shift request as a condition of maintaining access to
such company's application or platform;
(iii) Restrict an individual from performing services through other healthcare
technology platform companies, except while the individual is performing services
facilitated through such company;
(iv) Contractually restrict an individual from working in any other lawful occupation
or business;
(v) Require an individual to use specific equipment, tools, or other supplies;
(vi) Prescribe or control the means and methods for the services performed by an
individual at a healthcare facility; or
(vii) Assess a fee or otherwise require compensation from a healthcare facility or
healthcare technology platform contractor if such contractor accepts an offer of
employment from such facility.
(B) The exclusion provided under this paragraph only applies to healthcare or directly
related services performed at a healthcare facility in this state by a healthcare
technology platform contractor facilitated through a healthcare technology platform
company's application or platform and shall not be construed to affect the classification
of a healthcare technology platform contractor under any other circumstances.
(C) As used in this paragraph, the term:
(i) 'Healthcare facility' means any facility used to provide healthcare or directly
related services, including, but not limited to, hospitals; other special care units;
skilled nursing facilities; intermediate care facilities; assisted living communities;
personal care homes; ambulatory surgical or obstetrical facilities; health maintenance
organizations; home health agencies; and diagnostic, treatment, or rehabilitation
centers.
(ii) 'Healthcare technology platform company' means a person that maintains an
online enabled application or platform used to facilitate the delivery of healthcare or
directly related services at a healthcare facility in this state and through which a
healthcare technology platform contractor can accept one or more shifts to perform
healthcare or directly related services at a healthcare facility in this state; provided,
however, that such company shall maintain general and professional liability
insurance coverage for such contractors during the performance of any such services
facilitated through such company's application or platform.
(iii) 'Healthcare technology platform contractor' means any healthcare professional
or worker who performs healthcare or directly related services at a healthcare facility
in this state facilitated through a healthcare technology platform company's
application or platform. Such term shall include licensed healthcare professionals and
workers who are not required to be licensed.
(iv) 'Person' means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, or any other
organized group of persons;"
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
HB 991 would let healthcare staffing apps classify workers who pick up shifts at hospitals and other facilities as independent contractors rather than employees, if the company follows specific hands-off rules.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, whether a healthcare worker who finds shifts through an app counts as an employee or an independent contractor affects unemployment insurance and other labor protections. HB 991 amends Georgia's employment security law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-35) to carve out an exception: workers who perform healthcare or related services at a facility through a 'healthcare technology platform company's' app can be classified outside the normal definition of employment, but only if the company's written contract with them meets a list of conditions.
Those conditions bar the company from setting mandatory schedules, punishing workers for turning down shifts, blocking them from using other similar apps when not working, restricting other jobs, dictating equipment or work methods, or charging a fee if a worker takes a permanent job with the facility. The company must also carry general and professional liability insurance covering these workers while they perform facilitated services. The exclusion applies only to this specific arrangement and does not change how these platform contractors are classified in any other context. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
### What it does
- Adds a new exception to Georgia's definition of employment (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-35) for healthcare workers who get shifts through a technology platform company's app.
- Requires the platform company's contract with the worker to avoid setting mandatory schedules or a minimum number of required hours.
- Bars the platform company from punishing a worker for declining shifts, blocking use of other apps during off-hours, or restricting other outside work.
- Prohibits the company from dictating the equipment, tools, or work methods a worker uses at the healthcare facility.
- Bans the platform company from charging a fee if a worker accepts a permanent job offer from the healthcare facility.
- Requires platform companies to maintain general and professional liability insurance covering contractors while they perform app-facilitated services.
### Who it affects
Healthcare professionals and workers, licensed or unlicensed, who pick up shifts through staffing apps; the technology companies that run those apps; and healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home health agencies that use platform-sourced workers.
### Why it matters
The bill would change how these gig-style healthcare shift workers are treated under Georgia's employment law, affecting whether they can claim unemployment benefits as employees. It also sets baseline contract protections and insurance requirements meant to preserve some worker flexibility even as they are classified as contractors.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds paragraph (16.2) to O.C.G.A. § 34-8-35(n), excluding certain platform-facilitated healthcare services from the definition of employment.
- The exclusion applies only if the platform company's contract avoids seven specific controls, including mandatory scheduling and equipment requirements, listed in subparagraph (A).
- Subparagraph (B) limits the exclusion strictly to services performed at a healthcare facility through the platform, without affecting classification in other situations.
- Subparagraph (C) defines 'healthcare facility,' 'healthcare technology platform company,' 'healthcare technology platform contractor,' and 'person' for purposes of this exception.
- Platform companies must carry general and professional liability insurance for contractors during platform-facilitated work, per the definition in (C)(ii).
- Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-15)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-01-29)
- Sponsors: Todd Jones, Viola Davis, Victor Anderson, Rick Townsend, Carter Barrett
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72258
> The history, votes, and amendments (199 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb991.md?full=1