3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
Is Franchising Doomed?
II-27 - Our 1st Anniversary Special: Bringing Back Our Inaugural Guest to Discuss What Was and What Will Still Be With President Trump
Employment Law This Week: Break Pay, Misclassification of Franchisees, California Computer Professional Exemption, Non-Compete Payment
In the same month that 7-Eleven prevailed in a federal court trial where convenience store franchisees claimed they were not independent contractors but rather employees entitled to the protections of state labor laws, a...more
On July 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it is rescinding a final rule issued just last year (2020 Final Rule) that sought to clarify the standard for finding two separate entities to be “joint employers”...more
It was predictable – even inevitable – that the Biden administration would reverse much of Trump’s labor oeuvre. But no one could have predicted how quickly! In a little more than a month, the administration has:...more
California Supreme Court Applies Independent Contractor Standard Retroactively; Does Not Reach Applicability to Franchises - The California Supreme Court has held that its Dynamex decision applies retroactively, answering...more
For generations of small business owners franchising serves as a successful business model. Under this paradigm a franchisor grants a franchisee a license to use the franchisor’s trademark and business concept in exchange for...more
In my recent post commenting on the Department of Labor’s joint employer rule, I wondered whether the NLRB would follow suit. Now we know, and the answer’s positive. It’s very good news for franchising! As we noted in a...more
On February 26, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB) issued its final rule governing joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (the NLRA). The final rule replaces the Obama administration’s...more
Individual Examination into Effect of Alleged False "No Artificial Flavors" Label Necessary - In Marotto v. Kellogg Co., No. 18 Civ 3545, 2019 WL 6798290 (S.D. N.Y. Dec. 5, 2019), the court declined to certify a putative...more
A significant amount of legal activity has taken place recently in the area of joint employment. Joint employment exists when more than one entity is deemed to be a worker’s employer. Typically, a direct employer and a...more
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM, formerly known as The GPMemorandum. Since December 1997, The GPMemorandum has been presenting summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors and companies...more
In 2014, David Weil assumed the reins at the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division. Dr. Weil, an economic scholar, set his sights on the concept of joint employment. In academia, his work focused on what he termed a...more
On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its highly anticipated Final Rule regarding joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule was published in the Federal...more
On January 12, 2020 the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule revising its regulations on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new rule provides guidance for determining joint employer...more
When do your business relationships make you a joint employer? Fortunately, the DOL recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with changes to regulations regarding when two or more entities should be treated as...more
Professional Employer Organizations, franchisors, business advisors, and staffing agencies should take a close look at their contracts if the Department of Labor’s proposed new standard for what constitutes a joint employer...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
On April 1, 2019, employers received good news with the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) proposed regulation limiting joint employer liability. As expected (see prior alert regarding NLRB rulemaking), the proposed rule narrows...more
From joint employment concerns to questions about email use and employee handbooks, employers today face a host of modern labor law issues amid a continually changing political and legal landscape. In this Expert Analysis...more
Labor and Employment - Jimmy John's Avoids Joint-Employer Finding in Worker Overtime Litigation - In In re: Jimmy John's Overtime Litigation, 2018 WL 3231273 (N.D. Ill. June 14, 2018), a federal district court ruled that...more
Happy Anniversary! This podcast started one year ago today on February 1, 2017 with Howard Schweitzer prognosticating about what employers can expect with a new President Trump Administration. One year to the day, Howard...more
We write to alert our clients and contacts about some positive comments made by the acting Solicitor General pertinent to franchise entities. Specifically, as reported today in Law 360, acting Solicitor General Nicholas Geale...more
Are you an employer who uses temporary employees, staffing agencies or independent contractors? Use of such contingent or contract workers is not unusual and may be necessary for your operations. If you are in that...more
On July 26, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division entered into a “Voluntary Agreement” with the franchisor of the Subway brand, known as Doctor’s Associates, Inc., and its affiliates. The agreement...more
Subway is one of the largest franchisors in the world, with over 26,000 restaurants in the United States alone. It is also in one of the industries most prone to wage and hour claims, a fact reflected in both Department of...more
The far-reaching implications of this decision could change the existing franchise business model. Is a franchisor a statutory employer of its franchisee’s employees? The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board thinks so,...more