3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
One Month to More Effective Compliance on Business Ventures - Day 19 - Franchisor Compliance
Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Day 20 of One Month to More Effective Compliance for Business Ventures-Franchisor Liability
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) governs private sector labor/management relations in the United States. Under the NLRA, employers have certain responsibilities and restrictions with regard to their employees,...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued its final rule on the latest standard for joint-employer status on October 26, 2023, with an effective date of December 26, 2023. Joint-employer status is crucial...more
Adding to the list of employer-punishing labor changes this year, on October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a final rule establishing a joint employer standard. The standard defines when a...more
Do you use a staffing agency to provide workers for your day-to-day operations? Are you a franchisor that licenses your trademark and business model to franchisees? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions,...more
In the latest of a string of decisions seemingly supporting President Biden’s claim of being the most pro-union president in history, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week issued its Final Rule on the Standard...more
On September 11, 2023, the coalition of California businesses announced its agreement with labor unions to withdraw their referendum challenging Assembly Bill (AB) 257, which created the FAST Recovery Act, from next year’s...more
It’s been a busy spring at the California state capitol. Among the few thousand bills being considered by California’s legislature this year, AB 1228 stands out. The bill would essentially create joint liability for...more
California Assembly Bill 1228 (A.B.1228), otherwise known as the Fast-Food Franchisor Responsibility Act, was introduced on February 16, 2023. If passed into law, fast food restaurant franchisors and franchisees will share...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
With one day left to spare before the deadline to introduce new bills, on February 16, 2023, California Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) introduced Assembly Bill 1228, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act.” This...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision that a group of franchisees are not employees of their franchisor, even though the trial court failed to apply the correct test. Haitayan v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 2022...more
On Labor Day, with support from prominent unions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which will significantly affect fast-food restaurants in the...more
On Labor Day, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 257, known as the FAST Recovery Act. The Act establishes a Fast Food Council comprising fast food employees, worker advocates, franchisors, franchisees, and government...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Having run the legislative gauntlet, the fate of California’s 2022 employment bills now lie with Governor Newsom’s pen, including bills that would expand pay data reporting and pay scale requirements,...more
Three industries suffered setbacks last month in independent contractor misclassification cases, while another targeted industry targeted scored a success. As we have reported in many prior blog posts, class action lawyers...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
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
A Recent Second Circuit Decision Rejects Franchisees’ Claims that Franchisor’s Deductions from Revenue Violated State Minimum Wage and Anti-Kickback Laws, but Leaves the Door Open for Franchisor-Franchisee Relationships to be...more
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
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
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
On June 3, 2021, AB-257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (the “FAST Act”) was defeated in the California Assembly, coming up three votes short of the 41 votes needed. The FAST Act would have...more
California Assembly Bill 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act or AB 257) was defeated by the California Assembly on June 3, 2021. The bill was introduced by Assembly Member Lorena...more
California Assembly Bill 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act is currently pending in the California Legislature, introduced by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez....more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule to rescind a Trump administration joint-employer rule. The joint-employer rule attempted to treat companies, like McDonald’s and FedEx, as joint employers of franchise...more