Rural Emergency Response Support Act

Key Points

• This bill, introduced by Rep. Maloy, would change federal labor laws so that local governments and private companies in rural areas do not have to pay standard overtime to EMTs and paramedics.
• The rule would apply to any local government area with fewer than 100,000 residents. It also covers private ambulance companies that have contracts to serve those specific rural communities.
• Supporters believe this will help small towns keep their emergency services open by lowering labor costs. Many rural areas face budget shortages and struggle to staff ambulances 24 hours a day under current pay rules.
• For workers, this means EMTs and paramedics in smaller towns could lose the guarantee of 'time-and-a-half' pay for working long hours. This could make it harder for rural areas to recruit and keep medical staff who might move to bigger cities for better pay.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.