Overview
- Utah enacted a law that ends post‑employment noncompetes for healthcare workers, with narrow exceptions for reasonable severance deals and sales of a business.
- Virginia’s SB 170 makes a noncompete unenforceable after a no‑cause firing unless severance or other pay was disclosed when the employee signed, and this applies to agreements executed, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2026.
- A second Virginia measure, HB 627, bars noncompetes for licensed healthcare professionals for new agreements from July 1, 2026, while still allowing narrowly drawn customer non‑solicits, confidentiality terms, and limited repayment of bonuses or training costs.
- Maine’s new law restricts noncompetes for health care practitioners who do not own a stake in their employer, applies only to new or renewed contracts, and requires any allowed restraint to be narrow and to respect a patient’s choice of provider.
- Across these laws, employees gain private rights to sue with potential double damages and fee awards, while open questions over what counts as “cause” or adequate “severance” are likely to drive litigation and force employers to revise templates, severance plans, and notices.