Arkansas became the latest state to ban noncompete agreements for physicians in early March.
The bill was signed into law by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on March 4 and is expected to take effect in mid-July of this year. It is not clear whether the change will apply retroactively to agreements signed before the effective date.
The bill amends the state’s noncompete statute that restricts the right of a physician to practice within a certain area — making noncompetes void for anyone who is licensed to practice medicine in the state under the Arkansas Medical Practice Act or under Arkansas law.
Arkansas’s ban is similar to recent legislation in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
