House Bill 681, also known as the “Health Care Practitioner Non-Compete Agreement Act” (the “Act”), is moving quickly through the legislature. The Act would prevent the use of non-compete agreements in health care practitioners’ employment contracts.

According to State Representative Torren C. Ecker (R), who is the primary sponsor of the bill, the Act would “deem any non-compete language in an employment agreement for a health care practitioner to be against public policy,” and “would allow health care practitioners to alert their patients to the new affiliation and allow the patient the option to follow the health care provider to the new location.” The Act would not apply to any additional services provided by the individual outside their scope of practice or to trade secrets or confidential information learned through the course of the prior employment.

Click here to read the full legislation: Per the “Memorandum” published by Representative Ecker, if the public has any questions or concerns regarding the legislation, they are encouraged to contact Joani Harlan at jharlan@pahousegop.com.

House Bill 681 has received bipartisan support and the support of many medical groups and societies.

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Vasilios J. “Bill” Kalogredis, Esq. has been advising physicians, dentists, and other health care professionals and their businesses as to contractual, regulatory and transactional matters for over 45 years. He is Chairman of Lamb McErlane PC’s Health Law Department. bkalogredis@lambmcerlane.com. 610-701-4402.

Rachel E. (Lusk) Klebanoff, Esq. is a senior associate at Lamb McErlane PC who focuses on health law and health care litigation. She represents physicians, dentists, medical group practices, and other health-related entities in transactional, regulatory, and compliance matters. rlusk@lambmcerlane.com. 610-701-4416.