Is my Non-Compete Agreement Still Enforceable in Maryland?

Maryland has recently taken legislative steps to limit enforcement of non-compete agreements for some categories of employees. Generally speaking, Maryland law will enforce contractual non-compete agreements, if their scope is limited in duration and geographic scope.  In addition to these general limitations that apply to all non-compete agreements, Maryland law now generally will not enforce non-compete restrictions in employment contracts of:

• Any employee who earns equal to or less than 150% of the State’s minimum wage rate. (At the time of publication, Maryland’s minimum wage is $15/hour, and $150% of that is $22.50 per hour); or
• Any employee in a position for which they:
  • are required to be licensed under the Health Occupations Article (such as doctors, nurses, therapists, dentists, etc.);
  • are employed in a position that provides direct patient care; and
  • earn equal to or less than $350,000 in total annual compensation; or
• Any employee who is licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician.

The above statutory restrictions are applicable if the employee is employed within Maryland, even if the employment contract was signed outside of Maryland.

Significantly, the prohibition against enforcement of certain non-compete arrangements in the medical and veterinary fields still does not allow an employee to take, or use for the employee’s own purposes, an employer’s client list, patient list, or other proprietary client or patient-related information.

Even for those persons earning over $350,000 per year that are required to be licensed under the Health Occupations Article and are employed in a position that provides direct patient care, non-compete restrictions cannot exceed one year from the last day of employment, and the geographic scope cannot exceed 10 miles from the primary place of employment. Upon request, the former employer must provide a patient with notice of the location where the former employee will be practicing.

These statutory limitations will not apply to some categories of employment agreements that were entered into prior to July 1, 2025.

Employers, and Maryland-based employees with non-compete obligations in their contracts, should review new and existing agreements with knowledgeable legal counsel, in light of these recent legislative developments.