Non-Compete Clauses in Physician Employment Contracts are Bad for Our Health
Hawaii Bar Journal, Vol. 14, No. 13, pp. 79-90, 2011
12 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2011
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
Restrictive covenants in employment contracts describe a class of ancillary agreements between employers and employees whereby the employee agrees not to compete with the employer after termination of the contract. Typically the non-compete clause contains a limit on the duration, scope of activity, and geographic area to which it extends. Nationally, there is widespread criticism of the use of restrictive covenants in physician employment contracts because of the potential harm to the public. Here, we offer medical workforce shortages as yet another reason to discourage non-compete agreements in this context. We describe the national and local shortage. We will briefly outline the origin and purpose of restrictive covenants and discuss the state of the law in Hawai‘i, and propose a legislative solution.
Keywords: Non-compete clauses, physician employment
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