Patel v. 7-Eleven, a case in Massachusetts, has been closely watched since the ABC test took hold of franchise relationships in employee misclassification cases across the country.
A putative class of 7-Eleven franchisees...more
3/31/2022
/ 7-Eleven ,
ABC Test ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
FTC Franchise Rule ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Misclassification ,
Preemption ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Right to Control
In 2017, four former franchisees brought a class action in California, claiming 7-Eleven owed them unreimbursed expenses. The ex-franchisees claimed they were employees, not independent contractors of 7-Eleven. The court...more
A federal court in California certified a class of Matco Tools franchisees who claimed to be misclassified by Matco as independent contractors rather than employees. They claimed Matco did this to avoid obligations owed to...more
In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the ABC Test announced in a California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.5th 903 (2018) could apply to franchise...more
Franchisors faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. Enactment of California’s Assembly Bill 5 on January 1, 2020 was just the tip of an iceberg. As the COVID-19 pandemic upended franchise systems across all industries,...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5 (“AB-5”). AB-5 codifies into California’s Labor Code the “ABC test” for determining employee or independent contractor status, as adopted by the California...more
11/1/2019
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Dynamex ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws
The Ninth Circuit sent shockwaves through the franchise industry in ruling that last year’s California Supreme Court decision broadening who may bring wage misclassification claims (Dynamex v. Superior Court) applied...more
6/1/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Indemnification ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
Remand ,
Retroactive Application ,
Reversal ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Wage and Hour