David J. Clark, Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practices, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in The Washington Post, in “Your Longtime Doctor Moves. Will You Lose That Physician Because of a Noncompete Clause?” by Emily Sohn.
Following is an excerpt:
It’s not clear how often doctors sign restrictive covenants, the contract clauses that limit where they can go or what they can say after leaving a job, says David Clark, a partner at Epstein Becker & Green, a law firm in New York. But restrictive covenants are widespread in many industries — including, anecdotally, in medicine. Just recently, Clark says, his mother’s eye doctor told her that he was leaving his practice but couldn’t tell her where he was going.
Laws vary by state — both in what’s allowed in physician contracts and what is enforceable. In some states — including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and Colorado — health-care systems can’t legally enforce contract provisions that prevent health-care employees from working for competitors. Other states — including Texas, New Mexico, Connecticut and Tennessee — allow them with various limitations on how restrictive they can be. Most states don’t have any statutes addressing the issue, Clark says.
Related reading:
SF Gate, “Your Longtime Doctor Moves. Will You Lose That Physician Because of a Noncompete Clause?” by Emily Sohn.
