Following the lead of several other states, effective January 1, 2022, Illinois will make sweeping changes to its Freedom to Work Act (“Act”), limiting employers’ ability to restrict employees through covenants not to compete and covenants not to solicit.

In the past few years, more legislators have shown persistent hostility toward non-competition agreements in employment contracts. In adopting the Massachusetts Noncompetition Act (MNCA) in 2018, Massachusetts legislature played a major part in this catalyst movement of restricting non-competes

The biggest concern that every young plastic surgeon typically has with their first employment agreement is compensation. Although this can be driving force on whether you decide to enter into the arrangement, it should not be the only driving force. Most plastic surgeons don’t understand there are five other key details that they must consider before entering into any contract. This article covers what we call The Big Five.

Contracts matter. While the cinematic version of a napkin-negotiated salary ends in a handshake, the reality is that a signature on a legally binding document offers a happier finale. As we transition out of shelter-in-place and prepare to resume our pre-pandemic lives, we explore here the basic principles for a physician employment agreement.