Amendments to the Illinois Nurse Agency Licensing Act (HB 4666) aim to promote transparency and protections for healthcare workers, but, in practice, they make it more difficult for nurse staffing agencies to retain employees.

Under the new law, staffing agencies doing business in Illinois can no longer enter into covenants not-to-compete with nurses or certified nursing assistants. Similarly, nurse staffing agencies are prohibited from requiring any “buy-out” fee, placement fee, or other form of compensation if the nurse is hired by a healthcare facility. The law applies only to agreements entered into after the law’s effective date of July 1, 2022, so prior existing agreements need not be modified. Read more.