What it means for you
Since July 1, 2026, Virginia employers can't put noncompetes in new or renewed contracts for licensed nurses, doctors, counselors, optometrists, psychologists, or social workers—or enforce or threaten to enforce those clauses. Each violation carries a $10,000 civil penalty.
Who benefits: Health care workers licensed, registered, or certified by Virginia's Boards of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work, along with patients they were treating, whom the law allows them to tell about their new practice and right to choose a provider.
If you’re a nurse, doctor, nurse practitioner, counselor, psychologist, optometrist, or social worker licensed in Virginia, your employer can no longer put a noncompete in a new or renewed contract. Noncompetes block you from working nearby for a competitor after you leave. Some covered up to 60 miles and two years. Each employer violation carries a $10,000 civil penalty.
You don’t have to apply for this protection. It covers agreements entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2026; earlier contracts are not undone unless renewed after that date. Employers can still use confidentiality agreements, narrow limits on soliciting patients you treated, noncompetes tied to selling a practice, and repayment of things like signing bonuses or training costs if you leave within five years. When you leave a job, you may tell patients you were treating where you’re going to practice next and remind them that they can choose their provider.
Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg started the push after hearing from clinicians who felt stuck in their contracts, and Del. Charniele Herring carried the identical House bill. Nurse practitioners and doctors backed it, saying noncompetes drive clinicians away from areas that already don’t have enough of them. Sentara, a large health system, opposed it. The Senate passed the bill 40–0 and the House agreed to the Senate version 95–2. Gov. Abigail Spanberger added amendments and signed it on May 14, 2026.
Work and wagesHealth careRights
Sources
- 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly, Chapter 1113Virginia Legislative Information System, May 14, 2026
- Virginia Code § 40.1-28.7:8, Covenants not to compete prohibitedVirginia Legislative Information System, November 10, 2026
- Virginia bill would ban noncompete clauses for health care professionalsWHRO Public Media, February 19, 2026
- Employment Law Update—New Restrictions on Virginia Non-Competes Take Effect Next MonthWhiteford, June 9, 2026
How we checked this
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) on November 12, 2026. Checked against its sources by GPT-5.6-sol (OpenAI) on November 12, 2026, which corrected it. Confirmed the enacted chapter, current Virginia Code, legislative history, credits, and vote totals. Clarified that the ban applies prospectively and replaced secondary vote citations with official roll calls.
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