By Nicholas G. Miller
The Federal Trade Commission ordered pest-control company Rollins to stop enforcing noncompete agreements against more than 18,000 employees.
The FTC said Rollins imposed noncompete agreements, which typically restricted employees from working in the pest-control industry for two years after leaving Rollins, on nearly all of its employees.
"The noncompete agreements have denied workers access to job opportunities, restricted worker mobility and likely resulted in lower wages and salaries, reduced benefits, less favorable working conditions and personal hardship," the FTC said.
The regulator ordered Rollins to stop enforcing the noncompete agreements for current and former employees.
The FTC also sent warning letters to 13 other companies in the pest-control industry urging them to review their employment agreements to ensure they don't contain unfair or anticompetitive noncompete provisions.
Rollins said in a statement that last year it eliminated the use and enforcement of noncompete agreements for nearly all employees.
"We want to maintain our teammates' ability to seek employment elsewhere if they choose to leave Rollins, while also protecting our company's proprietary information and confidential customer data," the company said.
Write to Nicholas G. Miller at nicholas.miller@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-15-26 1112ET
