A guest sued the Hampton Inn and Suites franchisee in Nashville, Tennessee and the franchisor’s parent company, Hilton Domestic Operating Co., Inc. (“Hilton”), claiming race discrimination by a hotel employee. The plaintiff...more
Structuring a franchise to reduce risk of joint employment and vicarious liability means limiting a franchisor's control over franchisees. This is a challenge in a professional services franchise, where the brand is...more
A federal court recently held that under California law, cleaning services franchisor Jan-Pro Franchising International (Jan-Pro) was not the employer of its unit franchisees. The franchisee plaintiffs failed to show that...more
Lauded as one of the most important franchise cases in the recent past, Patterson v. Domino’s established a new standard for addressing vicarious liability issues in California. In reaching its decision that Domino’s was not...more
As joint employer liability continues to develop, plaintiffs seeking deep pockets continue to claim, with some success, that franchisors are joint employers, responsible for actions of their franchisees' employees. In April,...more