I loved your video setting up a cabinet in 7 days!! Thank you very much. My question is this: I am newly licensed and I have been offered a position at the place where I finished my internship hours. As an intern, the owner paid $15/client while earning $72, but I was an intern and needed hours, so I had to do it. Now that I have a license, his split is 55/45, where I get 55% and he gets the 45%. I feel like I should do this for a while trying to launch my own practice. The problem is (really, what is my question) in the workers` agreement he gave me to sign it, which says I can`t work within a 50-mile radius of his office. I live in the area and of course I want to set up a room near my home and I was hoping to be able to work for him a few days a week while starting my own practice. What do you think? Thank you, MaryAnn. Tamara, I think the ACA has had a great contribution on this. There is also a psychologist/lawyer who blogs and, I believe, has written about this topic.
Basically, mental health laws and health professionals vary from state to state and are also influenced by other variables. It is very important to consult a lawyer who is familiar with these issues in order to be fully informed. Then, be prepared for the standards to change. In principle, however, in most states, a non-compete clause does not prevent you from starting your own practice or joining another in the same metropolitan area. The clause must be reasonable and comply not only with the law, but also with local standards. In other words, you can`t be prevented from earning a living. However, the devil is in the details, so get legal advice. Where I am, in Michigan, the radius included in the non-compete clause is forty-five minutes by car. As someone who dreams of opening their own practice in the community where I live, this non-competition clause made me think. As an entrepreneur, it`s natural that you take care to hire someone and train them to learn the expertise and inner workings of your business, fearing they`ll quit your job and run away, absorb your ideas, and open a business that competes directly with yours – if you`ve just taught them everything they know.
That is quite understandable. Unfortunately, employees and contractors are constantly entering into non-compete clauses or agreements without realizing how limited their options have been. In some states, such as California, non-compete clauses are not legally enforceable, but in other states, such as Texas, they are still enforceable. Every state is different. Be sure to speak to a lawyer to find out what your state law allows in terms of non-compete obligations. Legal considerations Some contractual agreements between employers and therapists contain provisions that restrict the therapist`s actions after the end of the employment relationship. These are called non-compete obligations, also known as «non-compete agreements». For example, the agreement may prohibit the departing therapist from competing with his former employer by stipulating that the therapist should not provide services to the people he treated while working for the former employer. Some contracts may stipulate that the therapist may not provide services in a specific geographic area around their former workplace. As a general rule (except in circumstances involving the sale of interests in corporations, partnerships, or limited liability companies), non-compete clauses between employers and employees in California are prohibited and unenforceable under Section 16600 of the Business and Professions Code.i This section of the law provides: «. Any contract that prevents a person from carrying on a profession, trade or legal enterprise of any kind is void to that extent. ii When a therapist leaves an organization or private practice, disagreements often arise as to what should or should not be communicated to the therapist`s patients.
When a therapist leaves a work environment, there are typical questions from employers and employees, such as: Is it appropriate for the therapist to inform his patients of the existence of the therapist`s new workplace? Is the employer allowed to prohibit the departing therapist from «bringing» some or all of his patients to the therapist`s new workplace? This article discusses important legal and ethical issues that should be considered in answering such questions. Ethical concerns To be clear, therapists in private practice have legitimate economic concerns and are not expected to practice their profession for purely altruistic reasons. And every business, whether it`s a nonprofit agency, clinic, or private practice, has to be «in the dark,» otherwise it will eventually cease to exist. Therefore, it is hardly unethical for therapists or their employers to consider the economic necessity of treating patients. However, this does not mean that they can allow their economic interests to take precedence over the needs or interests of patients. The solution for both parties is to not know what is legally enforceable (i.e., what they can get away with); Rather, it`s about having honest conversations about what both sides want in the short and long term, and creating a mutually acceptable agreement that both are willing to abide by. When trying to resolve disputes about patients, therapists and their employers may try to resolve the dispute by debating who «owns» the patient. This is based on the assumption that the person who «owns» the patient has the appropriate authority to define and/or limit the treatment options provided to that patient. Unfortunately, the concept of «property» has no place in this context, incomprehensibly patients as if they were some kind of property. .