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Senate passes measure curbing physician noncompetes, creates narrow exceptions for recruitment investments
Summary
The Senate approved House Bill 34‑10B, which voids most physician noncompetition agreements but permits limited exceptions for physician‑owners and short, conditional noncompetes tied to recruitment investments and shortage‑area hires.
On final passage the Oregon Senate approved House Bill 34‑10B, a measure that restricts most noncompetition agreements for physicians while carving narrow exceptions tied to ownership stake, recruitment investments and service in shortage areas.
Senator Broadman, sponsor on the floor, described the bill as a unified framework that "voided noncompetes retroactively" in earlier legislation and that the current unified approach means "Noncompetes are void and unenforceable except in 3 cases." The three exceptions outlined on the floor were: a physician owner with greater than a 1.5% ownership interest; a staff physician where a noncompete may be valid for up to three years if the employer's recruitment investment (for example, a sign‑on bonus) equals 20% or more of the physician's annual salary; and a staff physician working in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area where a noncompete may be valid for up to five years under the same investment condition.
Senator Reynolds, speaking as both a senator and a practicing pediatrician, urged support for the bill and emphasized continuity of care, arguing that noncompetes "interrupt care, displace physicians, and break the trusted bonds between patients and providers." He said removing barriers to movement among employers will help address access problems in primary care and specialty services.
Floor clerks recorded the roll call and the bill was declared passed after receiving the constitutional majority. Sponsors told the chamber the measure is intended to increase competition for medical providers, limit restrictive employment practices, and preserve recruitment protections for employers who make substantial up‑front investments in hiring.
The Senate debate incorporated technical clarifications to earlier related measures and recorded no floor opposition after sponsors said stakeholders had been consulted on the unified approach.
