Relating to prohibitions on noncompete covenants involving nurses and including applicability provisions

This bill relates to noncompete covenants, as defined in the bill, contained within employment contracts involving nurses and provisions that are prohibited and void. The bill provides that if a person employed as a registered nurse or an advanced registered nurse practitioner makes less than 150 percent of the minimum wage, a noncompete covenant is unenforceable and violates the bill. The bill provides that a noncompete covenant with an employee who exceeds that wage threshold is unenforceable and violates the bill unless the employer can show that the noncompete covenant is necessary due to a clear and inherent risk of unfair competition and the noncompete covenant was narrowly tailored to mitigate the risk. The bill includes exceptions to these provisions. A prevailing employee is entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees, court costs, lost wages, and at the discretion of the court, liquidated damages of up to triple the amount of lost wages for willful violations of the bill. An employer found to be in violation of the bill is subject to a $5,000 penalty per violation payable to the labor commissioner for deposit in the general fund. The bill applies to covenants not to compete entered into on or after the effective date of the bill.