3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
5 Key Takeaways | Franchising in the USA: Challenges for Latin American Brands
Class Action | Eleventh Circuit Reinstates No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King
Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Court the question of whether franchisee plaintiffs in an ongoing case pass the threshold inquiry under the state’s three-prong employee...more
Introduction - No-poach agreements, wherein companies agree not to solicit or hire employees away from a competitor, have been targeted by the White House, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division....more
Friday, February 17, 2023: In the Ongoing Push to Make More Companies Liable for Worker Employment Claims, California Again Seeks to Set the Pace - The great seal of the State of CaliforniaAs more and more federal and...more
Arrington v. Burger King Worldwide, Inc., No. 20-13561 (11th Cir. Aug. 31, 2022) – In October 2018, a former line cook of a Burger King franchise restaurant in Illinois, filed a class action complaint in the District Court...more
Due diligence on restaurant companies should factor in industry-specific legal and operational risks. Buyers acquire restaurant companies to access new brands, expand and diversify, or vertically integrate. Attractive...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just held that 7-Eleven franchisees may be employees of 7-Eleven under Massachusetts wage and hour law. The March 24 decision in Dhananjay Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc. will have significant...more
Past and present franchisees of commercial cleaning service franchisor, Jani-King, brought claims for violation of Connecticut minimum wage and anti-kickback laws, and unjust enrichment. They claimed Jani-King misclassified...more
Recently we discussed the headwinds that remain for the franchise community as a result of policy changes coming from Washington and the various state capitols. What should franchisors consider as they swim in this sea of...more
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Franchisees’ Minimum Wage and Unjust Enrichment Claims - A divided panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that claims of improper wage deductions and unjust...more
That which is old is new again. The U.S. Department of Justice and plaintiffs’ lawyers are taking aim at non-solicitation agreements restricting mobility of labor. This isn’t something employers usually think about. ...more
The Ninth Circuit ruled that a California Matco Tool franchisee, John Fleming, could bring a class action wage and hour suit in California, even though a forum selection clause in the distribution agreement specified Ohio...more
A recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision considered whether a franchisee who entered into a franchise agreement with a franchisor was an employee or an independent contractor. The fact-specific case, Modern Cleaning...more
Hoping to clarify when entities should be treated as “joint employers” under the FLSA, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently announced its intent to revise its so-called “joint employer” regulations under the Fair Labor...more
Employees of a Merry Maids home cleaning franchise brought a class action against the franchisee, the franchisor, its owner and affiliated entities claiming they were joint employers. A California federal district court...more
The next hearing session of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) is scheduled for January 31, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Six matters are set for oral argument to consider motions to transfer each...more
On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision friendly to businesses—particularly those operating in the gig economy—in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 NLRB No. 75 (2019). The Board’s decision marks a...more
Companies that use independent contractors (ICs) typically require ICs to sign a contractor agreement prepared by the company. But, if it is drafted like the one reviewed in late September by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
The past month’s judicial and administrative activity in the area of IC misclassification reflects the wide range of industries facing these types of claims: communications; cleaning services; transportation and delivery...more
The Third Circuit’s decision is a pointed reminder to franchisors, as well as businesses that use independent contractors, that the form of their agreements can either serve their legal interests or harm them in employee...more
On March 22, 2016, Michigan joined Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee by amending its Franchise Investment Law to make it clear that unless otherwise specifically provided for in the franchise agreement, a franchisee...more
Last year, the franchising industry witnessed developments that significantly affected the core of its business model. These developments stem in large part from both federal and state governments taking a more active role in...more
The world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee, NPC International, Inc. (“NPC”), which operates more than 1200 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States, was sued in federal district court by employees in five separate collective...more
As we stated previously, the potential impact of whether entitlement to class arbitration is a “gateway issue” will likely diminish with each passing year. (See our March 12, 2015, blog article on the denial of certiorari in...more
JANITORIAL FRANCHISE COMPANY SETTLES ITS APPEAL OF $4.8 MILLION JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF MISCLASSIFIED CUSTODIANS. Coverall North America Inc. settled the independent contractor misclassification case filed against it by a class...more
The Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued 13 complaints, on December 19, 2014, against McDonald’s franchisees and their franchisor, McDonald’s USA, LLC (McDonald’s USA), involving...more