Ohio Senate bill aims to curtail healthcare worker noncompete agreements

A bill moving through the Ohio Senate would limit the ability of nonprofit hospitals to stop doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers from taking jobs with competing providers after they leave (Source: “Senate bill seeks to curb noncompete agreements that doctors say limit their practice,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 26).
 
Sponsored by Sen. Terry Johnson, a retired osteopathic physician from the southern-Ohio town of McDermott, Senate Bill 301 targets restrictive noncompete clauses that can force healthcare professionals to leave the communities they have spent years serving. The legislation would sharply curb contracts that bar workers from taking another job within a certain geographic area for a set period after leaving an employer.
 
The proposal is a revival of Senate Bill 126 from the previous General Assembly, an effort that lost momentum after the Federal Trade Commission adopted a nationwide ban on most noncompete agreements in 2024. That rule was later struck down in federal court, restoring the status quo.