FTC Orders Rollins to Stop Enforcing Noncompetes for Over 18,000 Workers

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered pest-control giant Rollins Inc. to stop enforcing noncompete agreements for more than 18,000 workers nationwide and warned a swath of the industry that similar restrictions may violate antitrust law.

Announced April 15, the action is one of the agency’s most sweeping labor-market cases to date and signals an aggressive, case-by-case crackdown on noncompete clauses in local service jobs.

Rollins, a publicly traded company based in Atlanta, operates national brands including Orkin, HomeTeam and Critter Control. The FTC describes it as one of the largest pest-control companies in the United States, with more than 700 locations in 49 states and over 18,000 U.S.-based employees.

In an administrative complaint, the FTC alleges that Rollins required virtually all newly hired U.S. employees to sign noncompete agreements that barred them from working in the pest-control industry for two years after leaving and from taking jobs within about 75 miles of the location where they had worked.

Those clauses, the FTC says, were imposed on a broad range of workers — including pest-control technicians, customer service representatives and other relatively low-wage employees — who had no ability to negotiate the terms, received no extra pay for agreeing and often had little or no time to consider what they were signing.

“Over 18,000 workers are free from the constraints of unlawful noncompete agreements,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement issued by the Office of the Chairman.

The case is proceeding as a proposed consent agreement, a type of settlement in which a company agrees to specific terms without a trial. The FTC has issued a complaint and a proposed Decision and Order and placed them on the public record for 30 days of public comment. If the Commission later makes the order final, it will carry the force of law for future conduct and remain in effect for 10 years.

The agency’s Bureau of Competition, which enforces antitrust laws, framed the move as part of a broader effort to police labor-market abuses.

“Once again, the FTC is fighting for American workers to ensure that they have the freedom to pursue new job opportunities and better pay,” said Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The American economy runs best when workers are not limited by noncompete agreements that distort competition and prevent workers from changing jobs, starting competing businesses, and earning higher wages. The FTC’s actions today build on its work to enforce the antitrust laws to protect American workers.”

According to the complaint, Rollins did not just rely on the contracts’ existence. The company allegedly sent hundreds of cease-and-desist letters to former employees accusing them of violating noncompete clauses and filed multiple lawsuits to enforce them.

Those tactics, the FTC says, denied workers access to job opportunities, restricted their ability to move between employers and likely led to lower wages and benefits, worse working conditions and personal hardship. The agency also alleges the noncompetes suppressed competition by making it harder for rivals to enter and expand in local markets and by discouraging Rollins workers from starting their own pest-control businesses.

The proposed order would require Rollins to “cease and desist from, directly or indirectly, entering or attempting to enter into, maintaining or attempting to maintain, enforcing or attempting to enforce, or threatening to enforce a noncompete agreement” with most workers.

Rollins must also notify current and recent employees that “they are no longer subject to a noncompete agreement and that they can compete against Rollins, including by starting their own business.” The notice obligation applies to “Covered Employees,” defined to include people currently employed, those employed within the previous two years and people in the process of being hired, with limited exceptions for certain senior leaders who hold equity or have policy-making authority.

The order sets deadlines, including a 60-day window to send individualized notices, and requires Rollins to keep records and share the complaint and order with relevant company officials so the FTC can monitor compliance.

The complaint is brought under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits “unfair methods of competition.” The Commission voted 2–0 to issue the complaint and accept the proposed consent agreement for public comment. Ferguson’s statement was joined by Commissioner Mark R. Meador.

The Rollins action arrives as part of a broader, recalibrated strategy on noncompetes. In 2024, the FTC attempted to adopt a sweeping Non-Compete Clause Rule that would have banned most such agreements nationwide. Federal court challenges, including an injunction from a court in the Northern District of Texas, halted that rule and raised questions about the agency’s rulemaking authority.

Since then, the FTC has shifted to case-by-case enforcement under Section 5, targeting individual companies and sectors rather than pursuing a single blanket rule.

Alongside the Rollins complaint, the agency sent warning letters to 13 other pest-control companies, using a template dated April 14. The letters say that noncompete clauses common in the industry may have the same types of harmful effects as the Rollins agreements, including restricted worker mobility and job access, reduced pay and benefits, worse working conditions, personal hardships and impeded entry and growth for competitors. The FTC is urging those firms to conduct a comprehensive review of their employment contracts to ensure they are appropriately tailored and legal.

The Rollins matter also builds on earlier labor-market cases. In a prior action, the FTC ordered Gateway Services Inc., the nation’s largest pet cremation business, to stop enforcing noncompetes against nearly 1,800 workers. It has also moved against building services contractor Adamas Amenity Services LLC and affiliated companies over no-hire agreements that limited worker movement, and sent letters to large health care employers and staffing firms urging them to review their employment terms.

Those actions are being coordinated through the FTC’s Joint Labor Task Force, created in February 2025 to investigate and prosecute deceptive, unfair and anticompetitive labor practices across the economy.

Under FTC procedures, an administrative complaint is issued when the Commission has “reason to believe” the law has been violated and that a proceeding would be in the public interest. If the Rollins consent order is finalized after the 30-day comment period, it will become a binding obligation on the company for the next decade and a signal to other local service employers that broad noncompete clauses are squarely in the agency’s antitrust sights.