Senators introduce bipartisan bill to ban most noncompete clauses
Bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate have introduced legislation aimed at curbing noncompete clauses in employment agreements for physicians and other workers.
Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Todd Young, R-Ind., on June 11 reintroduced the Workforce Mobility Act, which previously failed to pass in 2023. They noted that about 1 in 5 Americans—or 30 million members of the workforce—are “constrained” by noncompetes, blocking them from joining rival firms or starting businesses.
Senators cited previous research, demonstrating these agreements suppress wages and make it more difficult to recruit talent. Their bill would narrow the use of noncompetes to only “necessary instances,” including the dissolution of a partnership or sale of a business. Senators also want to require employers to educate workers about the limitations of noncompetes, which lawmakers contend are often used even when illegal or unenforceable.
“Millions of fast food workers, security guards, janitors and healthcare workers can’t leave their current job for a better one because they’re locked in noncompetes,” Murphy said in a statement June 12. “That crushes worker power, reduces wages and stifles new businesses. The FTC should continue defending its rule to ban noncompetes, but Congress should make the policy permanent and pass our legislation to protect workers and support entrepreneurs.”
The senator is referring to a previously released Federal Trade Commission rule, struck down by a Texas judge last year. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also are supporting the Workforce Mobility Act, as is the American College of Emergency Physicians. ACEP contends the law change would restore physicians’ freedom to choose where they practice, protect clinical autonomy and ensure docs can deliver care “without unreasonable labor restrictions holding them back.”
“As emergency physicians continue working to provide 24/7/365 access to lifesaving emergency care, our clinical autonomy is increasingly being eroded by coercive and exploitative noncompete clauses,” ACEP President Alison Haddock, MD, said in a statement June 16. “By prohibiting these predatory clauses, the ‘Workforce Mobility Act’ empowers physicians to make the career decisions that work best for them.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.