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
If you attended this year’s IFA Annual Convention in Phoenix, you heard Senator Joe Manchin strongly support and defend the franchise business model in a speech. Late on Wednesday, Senator Manchin used his vote to back up the...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
On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a final rule on joint employment, reversing its previous standard set in 2020. Employers that have potential control or influence over another entity’s...more
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued final rules broadening the definition of joint employers under federal labor law. A joint employer is a company that is not the employee’s direct W-2 employer, but...more
The NLRB recently published its final rule on the standard for determining joint employer status, broadening the circumstances under which separate businesses can be considered joint employers—thereby making them obligated to...more
Join CDF partners John Giovannone and Carolina Schwalbach for a one-hour in-depth review of the recent McLaren Macomb, Cemex and Stericycle NLRB decisions and their potential impact on union and non-union employers. If you...more
A federal court in Maine granted a franchisor’s motion to dismiss claims asserting that a franchisor was liable for its franchisee’s alleged age discrimination in employment. Goodwill v. Anywhere Real Est., 2023 WL 4034372...more
A federal district court in New York dismissed workplace harassment and retaliation claims against corporate affiliates of the Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill franchisor for damages as a result of workplace harassment...more
A Michigan federal district court denied a franchisor’s motion to dismiss claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Michigan law, and claims alleging retaliatory termination and sexually hostile work...more
A federal court in Michigan recently denied a franchisor’s motion to dismiss claims alleging that it was liable as a joint employer for claims under Title VII of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Michigan’s state...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 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is responsible for overseeing relations between labor and employers for both unionized and non-unionized workplaces and for administering the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)....more
On June 28, Kilpatrick Townsend’s Marc Lieberstein, Franchise and Licensing Partner, and Chris Caiaccio, Labor and Employment Counsel, spoke to Kilpatrick’s Retail and Consumer Goods Industry Team clients, on the topic of...more
New Standard Contract Language for Data Transfers Facilitates Lawful Personal Data Transfers to/from EU and U.S. - In response to the EU Court of Justice Schrems II opinion, which declared that the former EU-US Privacy...more
Franchise and Licensing Partner Marc Lieberstein and Labor & Employment Counsel Chris Caiaccio spoke for Celesq, a leading provider of legal education, on the topic of whether franchising was doomed in light of the new laws...more
The Democrat-majority National Labor Relations Board readied for 2022 by announcing plans to confront two President Trump-era legal tests - one that determines whether an independent contractor is actually an employee...more
On September 14, Kilpatrick Townsend’s Marc Lieberstein, Franchise and Licensing Partner, and Chris Caiaccio, Labor and Employment Counsel, spoke for Celesq, a leading provider of legal education, on the topic of whether...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
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM. Below are summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors. Missouri Federal Court Holds Franchisor Controls Sufficient to Survive Motion to Dismiss...more
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM. Below are summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors. Fraud/Misrepresentation - Minnesota Federal Court Rules that Fraud and Misrepresentation...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
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
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
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM, formerly known as The GPMemorandum. Below are summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors. Given the widespread and evolving impact of the COVID-19...more
Court Dismisses Ostensible Agency Claim on Motion for Reconsideration - A federal court in California has granted a motion for reconsideration in light of recent Ninth Circuit precedent, reversing the district court’s...more