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Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
There were a number of important and potentially impactful developments in 2024 that we predict will continuing developing and trending in 2025. Some of these topics are also discussed in other articles in this annual update....more
Recently, the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc.’s (“NASAA”) Franchise and Business Opportunities Project Group (“FPG”) issued guidance on post-term non-compete clauses in the context of the franchise...more
In May of last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sought to ban non-compete agreements in most employment contracts. Franchise agreements were an exception. However, before the rule could take effect in September, a...more
Last year saw non-compete agreements come under repeated scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. On April 23, 2024, the FTC issued a final rule banning non-compete agreements in most employment contracts....more
Last May, the Federal Trade Commission looked to ban non-compete agreements in most employment contracts aside from franchise agreements. Although scheduled to become effective in September, a federal court vacated the ruling...more
While the original guidelines focused primarily on per se illegal wage-fixing and no-poach agreements, the 2025 Guidelines illustrate a significant expansion in enforcement, broadening scrutiny to compensation benchmarking,...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) issued Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers (2025 Guidelines) in January. The 2025...more
In the final days of the Biden administration, the FTC and DOJ jointly issued antitrust guidelines on business practices that impact workers that replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, which...more
Less than a week before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division jointly published guidelines on assessing whether business...more
On January 16, 2025, in the waning hours of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly released their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting...more
In the final days of the Biden administration and on the eve of significant agency turnover, the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new set of guidelines addressing...more
During their last week in office, and over the vigorous dissent of Republican FTC commissioners, Biden administration antitrust officials unveil new guidelines intended to replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human...more
Washington-state based franchisees Greg and Gabriela Skistimas brought suit against Hotworx Franchising LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging misleading and unfair practices related to...more
On September 5, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) answered a second certified question in Patel, et al. v. 7-Eleven, Inc., et al. (“Patel II”), a long-running case where 7-Eleven franchisees claimed they...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on July 12, 2024 released a policy statement warning that the use of contract provisions that prohibit franchisees from communicating with the government about legal violations are unlawful....more
On July 12, the FTC released a new policy statement, staff guidance, and an issue spotlight about allegedly unfair and deceptive practices by franchisors. The policy statement addressed the FTC’s concerns that franchisees...more
The FTC announced that it has taken multiple actions to address growing concern about unfair and deceptive practices by franchisors. The FTC released a Policy Statement on Franchisors’ Use of Contract Provisions, Including...more
On Friday, July 12, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published an analysis of the information it received in response to its Request for Information related to franchisors’ business practices, launched in March...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) latest policy statement aims to dictate the outcome of contract negotiations between franchisors and their franchisees and to limit the potential negative impact on franchisees of...more
When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its long-awaited final rule banning virtually all noncompete clauses between workers and employers, it also published 500-plus pages of commentary....more
The International Franchise Association (IFA) recently announced its core practices of responsible franchising and policy recommendations. The principles are grounded in transparency during the franchise sales process through...more
On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) promulgated its final rule prohibiting non-competes for most workers in the United States (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule raises several issues, including...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), pursuant to sections 5 and 6(g) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “Act”), issued their final “Non-Compete Clause Rule” (Rule). This Rule provides that non-competes...more
As explained in Polsinelli’s prior alert of April 24, 2024, the FTC announced its final rule on non-compete covenants (the “Rule”) on April 23, 2024. Critically, the Rule does not prohibit non-compete agreements between...more
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to issue a Non-Compete Clause Rule that would ban most non-compete clauses in agreements between businesses and their “workers.” The final rule will take effect 120...more