With little press coverage, Illinois just amended the Nurse Agency Licensing Act (House Bill (HB) 4666) to prohibit noncompete agreements between nurse staffing agencies and nurses or certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and impose additional reporting requirements. The act is effective for noncompete agreements executed on or after July 1, 2022.

According to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) Acting Director, Jane Flanagan

This bill critically protects temporary nurses and nurse aides' right to change jobs or get hired directly by a healthcare facility. It will also increase stability and transparency in the healthcare industry in the state. As the pandemic illustrated time and time again, healthcare workers and the healthcare industry are critical to the well-being of the people of Illinois.

New Noncompete Restrictions

HB 4666 prohibits nurse staffing agencies from:

• entering into noncompete covenants with nurses and CNAs,
• “requir[ing] the payment of liquidated damages, conversion fees, employment fees, buy-out fees, placement fees, or other compensation if the employee is hired as a permanent employee of a health care facility,” and
• “recruiting potential employees on the premises of a health care facility.”

Additional Reporting Requirements

Nurse staffing agencies must now report the following:

• new contracts with health care facilities to the IDOL within five business days of their effective date,
• quarterly reports to the IDOL "for each health care entity with...

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