In January, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that would keep employees free from noncompete agreements nationwide. The rule would have an impact on physicians, around 37 percent of whom are bound by noncompete contracts.
States in the Midwest and on the East Coast have proposed their own noncompete changes this year.
In April, Indiana's House of Representatives voted in favor of a noncompete ban bill for primary care physicians, excluding specialty physicians. The ban would allow physicians the opportunity to change jobs without having to move out of a large radius from their current employer.
In July, the state law faced its first test when pediatric intensivist David Lankford, DO, sued his former employer, For Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Network, to get out of his noncompete agreement. The lawsuit alleges the agreement prohibits him from working in the Fort Wayne area for what could be years, although the details of his employment agreement are confidential.
In June, the New York Legislature also passed a bill aiming to stop employers from entering into noncompete agreements with their employees. The Connecticut Legislature passed a similar bill, amending the state's physician noncompete statute.
The Connecticut law amends noncompetes signed on or after July 2016 to last no longer than one year or extend beyond a 15-mile radius from their primary site of practice.