Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to prohibitions on noncompete covenants involving nurses and including applicability provisions
Sponsored by Sen. Molly Donahue (D)
Topics:Health careJobs & workers
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 19, 2025
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 24, 2025
- Stopped: Senate committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: House committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2026 session adjourned on May 3, 2026, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Registered nurses and advanced nurse practitioners would have new protections against certain rules in their job contracts that prevent them from working for competitors. If a nurse earns less than 150 percent of the minimum wage, these noncompete rules cannot be enforced against them. For nurses earning more than that amount, an employer can only use such a rule if they can prove it is necessary to prevent unfair competition.1
Read the official explanation
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 director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing 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.
Senate subcommittee
Named February 24, 2025. It hasn’t reported yet.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
Family tree
91st General Assembly
Earlier and later bills are matched by wording or an identical title.
Tried before
This idea has been filed in 2 earlier General Assemblies. None got through a chamber.
- SF 426 Relating to prohibitions on noncompete covenants involving nurses and including applicabil…90th General Assembly · In committee · nearly identicalCleared committee
- SF 304 Relating to prohibitions on noncompete covenants and including applicability provisions90th General Assembly · In committee · very similarCleared committee
- SF 2302 Relating to prohibitions on noncompete covenants and including applicability provisions89th General Assembly · In committee · similarCleared committee
Matched by wording or an identical title.