---
title: "Is my non-compete enforceable if I'm fired?"
canonical: "https://www.joinandwise.com/answers/non-compete-enforceability"
checked: "2026-10-21"
claim: "andwise:answer/non-compete-enforceability@2026-10-21"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Is my non-compete enforceable if I'm fired?

Start with the statute, not the clause. In 30 of 51 jurisdictions, state law voids or limits physician non-competes: 15 generally ban them for physicians, 5 ban most worker covenants, and 10 allow them only within physician-specific limits. The other 21 have no physician-specific statute. Termination decides the answer inside the first group — Texas voids the covenant if you are fired without good cause, and Pennsylvania's Act 74 voids it on dismissal. A ban does not free you: non-solicitation, confidentiality and buyout terms can survive it.

## The rule

Read the state's category before the clause. Banned means the statute generally voids physician covenants, with listed exceptions. Banned for most workers means the statute voids them for nearly everyone, physicians included. Restricted means they are allowed but capped — usually a maximum radius, a maximum duration, and sometimes a required buyout or a pay threshold. No physician-specific statute means courts apply the general reasonableness test to geography, duration and protectable interest.

A dismissal does not void a covenant on its own. In the states with a dismissal provision — Texas and Pennsylvania are the clearest — the statute does the work, and the reason for termination and the date matter. In common-law states the termination clause and the non-compete are read together, and a without-cause exit can still leave the covenant enforceable.

The signing date matters as much as the state. A statute that took effect after your agreement may not reach it, and a renewal or amendment signed later may be treated as a new agreement. Each state page lists the effective date; compare it to the date on your signature page.

Three terms survive a ban and are where these agreements still bite: non-solicitation of patients and referral sources, confidentiality, and a buyout the employer can enforce as a price rather than a prohibition. A covenant that is void as a restraint can still be a valid contract term when it is drafted as one of these.

Price the exposure before you argue about it. A 12-month restriction on a $300,000 salary puts $300,000 of gross salary at risk — one year of income — and the caps show how far past the state's limit the terms run. The usual employer remedy is an injunction, which costs both sides time and money; that is a reason to fix the clause before signing, not a reason to ignore a demand letter.

## Numbers

- Jurisdictions with a physician limit or ban: 30 of 51 (15 banned, 5 banned for most workers, 10 restricted)
- No physician-specific statute: 21 (Common-law reasonableness test)
- Texas: Void if terminated without good cause (Physician non-compete, effective 2025-09-01)
- Pennsylvania: Void if dismissed (Act 74, effective 2025-01-01)

## Actions

- Open your state's page for its category, caps, buyout terms and effective date. — https://www.joinandwise.com/contracts/noncompete
- Enter your salary, radius and duration in the exposure calculator on that page.
- Read the termination and non-compete clauses together; ask for voidance on a without-cause exit.
- Get a state-licensed attorney before responding to a demand letter.

## What could change this

- Your state's statute voids the covenant on dismissal, as in Texas or Pennsylvania — the answer moves from 'depends' to 'likely unenforceable.'
- You resigned rather than being terminated — dismissal-based voidance does not apply.
- Your contract predates the statute's effective date — the older rule may govern, or a later renewal may be treated as a new agreement.
- You are in a common-law state — enforceability turns on a court's reasonableness test, not a statute.
- The clause you are worried about is a non-solicitation or confidentiality term rather than a non-compete — a ban on the covenant may not reach it.

## When the numbers aren't enough

- You received a cease-and-desist or a threat of an injunction.
- Your contract predates a statutory change and the employer says the old rule applies.
- You are being asked to sign a new agreement as a condition of a current job.

## Sources

- [Texas Business & Commerce Code § 15.50](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.15.htm)
- [Pennsylvania Act 74 of 2024](https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2024&sessInd=0&act=74)
- [AMA Code of Medical Ethics: Restrictive Covenants](https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/restrictive-covenants)
- [Andwise: physician non-compete law by state](/contracts/noncompete)

Checked 2026-10-21. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The site describes what the law and rules say; it does not say whether a clause is enforceable or what you should do.