Noncompete Agreements: Do Not Sign on the Dotted Line

In Illinois there are approximately 175 licensed COs and CPOs. Most of them have signed noncompete agreements. That leaves approximately 40 practitioners for smaller practices to consider when hiring. Some of these practitioners only provide prostheses. Some are retired but are keeping their license active. Most of the others work in an institutional department that they will likely never leave.

Noncompetes are widespread in O&P, but the practice suppresses competition by draining the pool of available providers. Noncompetes are traps that can force workers to either stay in a job they want to leave, switch to a lower-paying field, relocate, or litigate.