Can an Agency Contract Stop You Working Elsewhere?
It can try: a non-compete, no-hire or conversion clause can limit where you work after an assignment, and no federal ban is in effect to stop it. Whether a clause holds depends on its wording and on the governing state's law, so read it, and ask to narrow it, before you sign.
What does a non-compete look like in a travel contract?
Restrictive clauses in travel contracts tend to come in three shapes. A non-compete limits where you may work after the assignment, usually by facility, distance or time. A no-hire or non-solicitation clause says you will not go to work for the facility, directly or through another agency, for a set period. A conversion or buyout clause sets what the facility owes the agency if it hires you.
The Federal Trade Commission's definition is a useful test of what counts. It describes a non-compete clause as a term of employment that “prohibits a worker from, penalizes a worker for, or functions to prevent a worker from” seeking or accepting work with a different person after the employment ends, and it includes “a contractual term or workplace policy, whether written or oral” (FTC: Noncompete Rule). A clause does not need the word non-compete in its title to work like one.
Is there a federal ban on non-competes?
No. The FTC adopted a rule banning most new non-competes, but it never took effect. The FTC's page on the rule says: “The Noncompete Rule is not in effect and it is not enforceable.” It explains that “On August 20, 2024, a district court issued an order stopping the FTC from enforcing the rule,” and that “On September 5, 2025, the FTC took steps to dismiss its appeal in the Fifth Circuit.”
So a restrictive clause in a travel contract is judged under state law and the contract's own terms. If you read an article that describes a nationwide ban, check its date: the rule it describes is the one the FTC now says is not in effect.
Does your state's law change the answer?
It can change it completely, and California shows how far. Its Business and Professions Code says “every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void,” and that the rule is to be read “to void the application of any noncompete agreement in an employment context, or any noncompete clause in an employment contract, no matter how narrowly tailored,” unless an exception in that chapter applies (California Business and Professions Code section 16600).
California also reaches contracts signed elsewhere. A void contract “is unenforceable regardless of where and when the contract was signed,” and an employer “shall not attempt to enforce a contract that is void under this chapter regardless of whether the contract was signed and the employment was maintained outside of California” (section 16600.5).
Other states set their own rules, and they differ. Your home state, the agency's base and the assignment state can all be different, so ask which state's law the contract says governs it, and look up that state's rule before you rely on a clause or worry about one.
What should you ask before you sign?
- What exactly is restricted? Working at the facility, anywhere in its health system, anywhere within a distance, or with other agencies at all.
- For how long, and counted from when? From the end of the assignment, or from the date you were first submitted.
- Does it bind you, or the facility? A fee the facility pays the agency if it hires you is a different thing from a clause that makes you pay, or stops you taking the job.
- Does it still apply if the facility cancels? A restriction that survives a cancellation you did not cause is worth asking to remove.
- Which state's law governs the contract? The answer tells you which rule to read.
Ask for any change in the contract itself, not in an email that sits beside it. A recruiter's spoken assurance that a clause is never enforced is not part of what you sign.
If you want any restrictive clause spelled out in the contract before you sign, ask a ProTherapy recruiter: Find my next contract.
What if you want to go permanent at the facility?
Tell your agency before you discuss terms with the facility. If your contract has only a conversion clause, the terms sit between the agency and the facility, and the facility decides whether hiring you is worth the fee. If your contract has a clause that restricts you directly, read its wording against the governing state's rule, and if the stakes are high, have an employment lawyer licensed in that state read it.
The same applies to coming back to a facility through a different agency. Your submission history matters too: working with multiple agencies explains why two agencies submitting you to one facility causes trouble of its own, and switching agencies covers the order of steps when you leave one.
Frequently asked questions
Is the FTC's non-compete ban in effect?
No. The FTC's page on its Noncompete Rule says the rule is not in effect and is not enforceable, after a district court stopped the FTC from enforcing it and the FTC took steps to dismiss its appeal.
Can an agency stop me from taking a permanent job at the facility?
It depends on the clause and the state. A conversion fee is a term between the agency and the facility; a clause that restricts you directly is judged under the governing state's law, and in California a noncompete clause in an employment contract is void unless an exception in the code applies.
Should I sign a contract that has a non-compete in it?
Read what it restricts, for how long and whether it survives a cancellation, and ask for the narrowest version in writing. If a clause could stop you working where you live, have a lawyer licensed in that state read it before you sign.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission: Noncompete Rule, read October 22, 2026
- California Business and Professions Code section 16600, read October 22, 2026
- California Business and Professions Code section 16600.5, read October 22, 2026