Veterinary Non-Competes in Michigan
Michigan judges a veterinarian's non-compete under a single codified reasonableness test.
MCL 445.774a(1), part of the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act, lets an employer obtain a covenant restricting an employee's post-termination competition as long as its duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business restrained are reasonable.
Michigan has no healthcare-specific non-compete statute, so a veterinarian's covenant is not treated differently from any other employee's.
There is no wage threshold, and a court that finds a covenant unreasonable may reform it rather than void it.
The provision was added by 1987 PA 243 and applies to covenants entered after March 29, 1985.
Mechanics, not a verdict on your contract
At a glance
Permitted — judged on reasonableness
State statute — MCL 445.774a (Michigan Antitrust Reform Act).
Healthcare statute reaches veterinarians: No healthcare-specific non-compete statute.
MCL 445.774a(1), the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act's non-compete provision, lets an employer obtain a covenant that protects its reasonable competitive business interests and bars an employee from engaging in a competing line of business after termination, so long as the covenant's duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business restrained are all reasonable.
Not applicable. Michigan has no healthcare-specific non-compete statute; the research behind this page confirms, via a secondary source, that physician — and by extension veterinary — non-competes are governed solely by the general § 445.774a reasonableness test, with no separate statute for licensed health professions.
No wage or salary threshold. Section 445.774a's reasonableness test does not turn on what the veterinarian is paid.
No fixed statutory cap. Section 445.774a(1) requires only that duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business restrained be reasonable, and the section — added by 1987 PA 243 — applies to covenants entered into after March 29, 1985.
A court that finds a covenant unreasonable in any respect may limit it to render it reasonable in light of the circumstances in which it was made, and then specifically enforce the covenant as limited — reformation, not voiding or blue-penciling.
Not stated in the sources read.
Not stated in the sources read.
Added by 1987 PA 243 (immediately effective December 28, 1987), applying to covenants and agreements entered into after March 29, 1985; the section's history in the source read lists no later amendment.
What Michigan’s text actually says
“An employer may obtain from an employee an agreement or covenant which protects an employer's reasonable competitive business interests and expressly prohibits an employee from engaging in employment or a line of business after termination of employment if the agreement or covenant is reasonable as to its duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business.”
The reasonableness test a Michigan veterinary non-compete is measured against
Section 445.774a(1) sets a four-factor test: an employer may obtain a covenant that protects its reasonable competitive business interests and bars a departing employee from a competing line of business, but only to the extent the covenant is reasonable as to its duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business restrained.
For an associate veterinarian reading an offer, that means four separate questions — does it protect a real competitive interest, how long, how far, and restricting what kind of work — rather than a single yes-or-no.
It applies to covenants and agreements entered into after March 29, 1985.
“An employer may obtain from an employee an agreement or covenant which protects an employer's reasonable competitive business interests and expressly prohibits an employee from engaging in employment or a line of business after termination of employment if the agreement or covenant is reasonable as to its duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business.”
Why there is no separate healthcare non-compete law for Michigan veterinarians
Michigan has not enacted a healthcare-practitioner non-compete statute.
The row behind this page confirms, through a secondary source (a Dickinson Wright health-law analysis), that physician non-competes — and, by the same reasoning, veterinary non-competes — are governed solely by the general § 445.774a reasonableness test, with no separate statute carved out for any licensed health profession.
A Michigan veterinarian reading a headline about a "healthcare worker" non-compete carve-out should not expect a parallel Michigan statute: there isn't one, and the covenant in front of them is tested the same way any other Michigan employee's would be.
Reformation: what a Michigan court does with an unreasonable covenant
Where a covenant is found unreasonable in any respect, § 445.774a(1) permits a court to limit — reform — it to render it reasonable in light of the circumstances in which it was made, and then specifically enforce the covenant as limited.
That is reformation: the court may rewrite the overbroad term down to something it will enforce, rather than striking the whole clause or voiding the agreement.
For a veterinarian evaluating a covenant with, say, a long duration or a wide radius, that means an overreaching term is not necessarily a reason the whole covenant falls away in Michigan; the statute itself contemplates that a court may narrow it instead.
“may limit the agreement to render it reasonable... and specifically enforce the agreement as limited”
What this page does not answer for Michigan
The research behind this page reads the statute's text and a secondary confirmation that no healthcare-specific carve-out exists; it does not cover how Michigan treats a covenant tied to selling a veterinary practice or an ownership interest, or how client or staff non-solicitation clauses are handled.
Those gaps matter most at a buy-in or buy-out, where a covenant may be drafted alongside the purchase terms rather than the employment terms.
They are left blank here rather than filled from another state's rule — take them to a Michigan attorney with the whole agreement in hand.
Have the agreement itself reviewed
Start with the mechanics
The reasonableness test, what a radius is measured from, the access-to-care argument, and the difference between a non-compete and a non-solicitation clause are covered in the national guide to veterinary non-competes. This page covers only what is specific to Michigan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What law governs a veterinarian's non-compete in Michigan?
MCL 445.774a(1), part of the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act.
It lets an employer obtain a covenant that protects its reasonable competitive business interests and restricts an employee's post-termination competition, so long as the covenant's duration, geographical area, and the type of employment or line of business restrained are reasonable.
Added by 1987 PA 243, it applies to covenants entered into after March 29, 1985.
Have a Michigan attorney who handles veterinary employment contracts read your specific agreement against that test.
Does Michigan's healthcare non-compete law protect veterinarians?
Michigan has no healthcare-specific non-compete statute at all — not one naming veterinarians, and not one naming physicians or any other health profession.
A secondary source confirms physician, and by extension veterinary, non-competes fall under the same general § 445.774a reasonableness test as any other employee's.
Because this rests on a secondary confirmation rather than a dedicated statute, a Michigan employment attorney can tell you whether anything newer has changed that.
Is there a salary level below which a Michigan veterinarian cannot be bound by a non-compete?
No. Section 445.774a contains no wage or salary threshold.
Its test turns on whether the covenant's duration, geographical area, and restricted line of business are reasonable — not on what the veterinarian earns.
That describes how the statute is written, not how it applies to a particular contract; a Michigan attorney can tell you how it bears on yours.
What happens if a Michigan court finds my non-compete unreasonable?
Under § 445.774a(1), a court that finds a covenant unreasonable in any respect may limit it to render it reasonable in light of the circumstances in which it was made, then enforce it as limited.
That is reformation — the court rewrites the overbroad term rather than voiding the whole agreement or striking a clause outright.
Because how a specific covenant gets narrowed depends on the facts a court is looking at, have a Michigan attorney review the actual wording with you.
Does selling my share of a Michigan veterinary practice change how a non-compete is treated?
The sources read for this page do not address how Michigan treats a covenant tied to the sale of a practice or an ownership interest, so this page does not answer it.
A buy-in or buy-out agreement may carry its own covenant, drafted alongside the purchase terms rather than the employment terms.
Before signing one, have a Michigan attorney who handles veterinary practice transactions review the covenant and the purchase agreement together.
More Michigan Non-Compete Resources
Sources
- MCL 445.774a (Michigan Antitrust Reform Act) — Michigan Legislature (official site) (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Sourced from Michigan’s own statute or leading court decisions (see the citations above). Verified September 2026; the governing provision was last amended Added by 1987 PA 243 (immediately effective December 28, 1987), applying to covenants and agreements entered into after March 29, 1985; the section's history in the source read lists no later amendment. This page is general information, not legal advice.