New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System is facing scrutiny over the issue of part-time physicians signing noncompete employment contracts, according to a June 18 complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
The complaint is over a no-poaching and confidentiality clause in the agreement required as a condition of employment. Contracts state that for one year following termination, part-time physicians may not recruit, solicit or induce to terminate the employment of hospital system employees or independent contractors. The complaint alleges this language "interferes with, restraints and coerces employees" in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
Mount Sinai must respond to the complaint by July 16 and an administrative law judge is scheduled to hear the case on Sept. 24.
Mount Sinai declined Becker's request for comment.
The complaint comes about two months after the FTC voted to prohibit noncompetes indefinitely. That ban, however, has been challenged in federal court.
"Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. "The FTC's final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market."
In the first six months of 2024, unfair labor practice charges filed with the NLRB have increased 7%, from 9,612 in 2023 to 10,278 in 2024.