Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Illinois and six other states settled with United States-based Valvoline to resolve allegations of unfair labor practices at the oil change and auto services company.
There are about 1,000 Valvoline oil change and car maintenance franchises in North America and a workforce of some 9,000 people. Last year, the company split into services and products. The products side was bought by Saudi Aramco for U.S. $2.65 billion.
Joining Illinois to bring the labor case against Valvoline were Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania.
Valvoline allegedly made hourly employees sign non-competition agreements that stopped them working for similar service providers within 100 miles of their former workplaces for a year. Valvoline also required they sign non-solicitation agreements that forbid them from soliciting current Valvoline employees or customers for one year after their employment with Valvoline ended.
Under the settlement, Valvoline has stopped requiring workers to sign these agreements. It has up to 15 days to tell current and former employees who would have been impacted by the agreements that they are invalid. Any violation of the terms of the agreement in any of the states included in the coalition, the attorney general of that state can seek a $500,000 penalty.
”Valvoline’s unfair use of non-compete agreements restricted workers from future employment opportunities and limited financial growth for many families,” Raoul said. ”These agreements are simply anti-worker.”
The settlement names Valvoline LLC, Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchising Inc. and VGP Holdings LLC.