Conaway, Jimenez & Vainieri Huttle Bill to Void Restrictive Agreements in Physicians Contracts Clears Assembly Panel

(TRENTON) – When a doctor begins a new job at a medical practice, they are often asked to sign an agreement that would prohibit them from setting up a new competing practice or working at a different practice in the same region for a period of time if they leave the practice.

Assembly Democrats Herb Conaway, M.D., Angelica Jimenez and Valerie Vainieri Huttle are sponsors of a bill (A-4003) that would void these agreements and make them unenforceable, with certain exceptions, so that many physicians would not be restricted as to where and when they could practice medicine and serve their communities. The measure was approved Tuesday by the Assembly Health Committee.

Assemblyman Conaway (D-Burlington) and Assemblywomen Jimenez (D-Bergen, Hudson) and Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) released the following joint statement:

“Non-compete agreements are used by medical practices as a way to retain employees and avoid close competition. However, it isn’t fair to dedicated doctors to restrict them to one practice as their career goals and personal lives evolve. A doctor who wants to start his or her own practice, for example, may need to uproot his or her family to move to another area if they are subject to one of these agreements. It’s also especially unfair to new doctors who have little bargaining power in the negotiating process. By removing these restrictions, we will give hardworking healthcare professionals more freedom to reach their career goals and to continue to serve New Jersey residents where needed.”