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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
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM. Below are summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors. Fifth Circuit Reverses Trial Court’s Excusal of Area Representative’s Tardy Renewal Notice -...more
Part 2: New Employment-Related Court Decisions Impacting California’s Public and Private Entities - California and federal courts handed down a number of labor and employment-related decisions last year, impacting...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
On Thursday, December 12, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) ordered an administrative law judge to approve a settlement previously reached between McDonald’s, its franchisees, and workers. Although...more
Just before the holiday season, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) provided employers with two big wins. First, on December 13, 2019, the NLRB announced its long awaited final rule to relax the Obama-era...more
The DE OFCCP Week in Review (WIR) is a simple, fast and direct summary of relevant happenings in the OFCCP regulatory environment, authored by experts John C. Fox, Candee Chambers and Jennifer Polcer. In today’s edition, they...more
The US and China have reportedly reached an initial agreement on the “final terms of a phase one trade deal, moving both countries closer to signing a pact that” the White House originally announced in October and averting...more
Court Upholds Whistleblower Verdicts In Favor Of Fired Parking Ticket Hearing Examiners - Hawkins v. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal. App. 5th 384 (2019) - Todd Hawkins and Hyung Kim were terminated from their jobs as...more
In the wake of California’s enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 5—legislation that threatens to reclassify 2 million California independent contractors as “employees” under California labor and employment laws—legal questions...more
Q. As a franchisor, could I potentially be held liable for the wage and hour violations committed by franchisees of my organization against their employees?...more
Ninth Circuit Clarifies Joint Employer Classification - McDonald’s was not a joint employer of its franchisees’ workers, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found recently in a decision that provides additional clarity...more
On October 1, 2019, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided by majority opinion by Circuit Judge Susan Graber, with a partial dissent filed by Chief Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas, Salazar v. McDonald's Corp. No. 17- 15673 (9th...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that McDonald’s is not a joint employer with a franchisee under the definitions found in California Wage Order 5-2001, as it did not have direct control over the store...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Salazar v. McDonald’s Corporation is welcome news for entities facing concerns about joint employment status under California law, and in particular, for franchisors....more
In a win for franchisors, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of fast-food behemoth McDonald’s Corp., ruling that the franchisor is not a joint employer of its franchisees’...more
In a major victory for franchisors, a panel of the Ninth Circuit recently held that McDonald's Corporation cannot be liable as a joint employer for the wage and hour violations of its franchisees. Importantly, the court held...more
I admit I was among the scores of franchise lawyers whose blood pressure skyrocketed with passage of California’s AB 5. If a Franchise Agreement establishes an independent contractor relationship between franchisor and...more
In Salazar v. McDonald’s Corp., the plaintiff argued that McDonald’s, a franchisor of fast food restaurants, was liable for wage and hour violations as a “joint employer” of its franchisees’ employees. Last week, a panel of...more
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in a California lawsuit that one of the most recognized franchises, McDonald’s, does not exert sufficient direction or control over its franchisees’ employees to be considered a...more
In a case that should grab the attention of franchisors across the country, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that McDonald’s Corporation is not the joint employer of the employees of a...more
The Ninth Circuit ruled on October 1, 2019, that McDonald’s cannot be held liable for wage and hour violations allegedly committed by a franchisee in California because McDonald’s did not exert sufficient control over the...more
In an important wage-and-hour decision for franchisors, Salazar, et al. v. the McDonald’s Corp., et al., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that employees of one of the hamburger giant’s California-based franchisees...more
Companies doing business in California and elsewhere scored a victory yesterday in one of the fastest growing areas in employment law: joint employment claims. In a significant opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th...more