Rhode Island sets licensing and safety rules for healthcare shift platforms

The Department of Health licenses healthcare worker platforms operating in Rhode Island. A platform is an electronic system or app where healthcare workers accept shifts at healthcare facilities. It cannot require specific shifts, restrict other work, or offer shifts for licensed home nursing care providers, home care providers, or hospices. The Department may charge an annual fee of $1,000 per license. The licensing requirement applies after September 1, 2027, or on a later date the Department sets for licensing, whichever is later.

Licensed platforms must ensure workers meet the listed qualification and safety standards. These standards apply to healthcare workers using a licensed platform, including nursing assistants. Platforms must arrange fingerprint-based national criminal background checks, verify required active professional licenses, and ensure workers meet applicable health and vaccination rules. Nursing assistants must complete platform-certified training, with programs at least quarterly and totaling at least three hours. Platforms must maintain occupational accident insurance or verify workers' compensation coverage for platform shifts, and maintain general and professional liability insurance in amounts set by the Department of Business Regulation. The background check must begin before a worker accepts any shift.

Platforms must follow limits on hiring fees, recruiting, and shift rates. These rules apply to healthcare worker platforms and the workers and facilities that use them. A platform cannot charge a worker or facility liquidated damages, employment fees, or other compensation when a facility hires a platform worker as a permanent employee. A platform cannot actively recruit potential contractors from a facility with which it has an active contract. It must follow maximum rates or markups established by the Department of Health.

Platforms must keep records, submit yearly reports, and track violations from shifts they book. These requirements apply to healthcare worker platforms operating in Rhode Island. The Department of Health may inspect platform service records, including worker credentials, training, health records, and background checks. Records of public health code violations by platform workers are public; platforms must keep records of violations that occur during booked shifts. Annual reports must include worker pay and platform use, deactivations, reports to state agencies, and amounts charged to facilities without identifying those facilities. The Long-Term Care Coordinating Council must develop platform standards and a ranking formula for public accountability. Each platform must submit a report to the Department of Health every year; the text does not set the first reporting date.