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State Labor Laws Franchisors

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

New York State Senate Bill Would Make Fast-Food Franchisors Jointly and Severally Liable for Certain Labor Law Violations

On April 8, 2025, the New York State Legislature took up Senate Bill S7289, which, if enacted, would amend the New York Labor Law (NYLL) by adding a new article 35-A, otherwise known as the “New York State Fast Food...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

DOL Alters Enforcement Position on Independent Contractors

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On May 1, 2025, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin stepping back from a restrictive independent contractor rule issued under the Biden administration — a...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

The NLRB Delays Effective Date of New Joint Employer Test after Challenge By Business Groups

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On November 9, 2023, a coalition of business advocacy groups led by the US Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas challenging the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”)...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

FAST Act Shrapnel: AB 1228 redefines the franchise relationship

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The FAST Act is in limbo pending the outcome of a California ballot repeal initiative. Undaunted, the Legislature has excised key provisions of that Act and positioned them for separate enactment as AB 1228, introduced by...more

Littler

California Legislature Serves Up Bill Proposing Joint Employer Liability For Fast Food Franchisors

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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

Fox Rothschild LLP

Think FAST: California Enacts Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act

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On Labor Day, with support from prominent unions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which will significantly affect fast-food restaurants in the...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules that Independent Contractor Test Applies to Franchisees

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On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled in Patel v. 7-Eleven that the test for independent contractor status set forth in the Massachusetts independent contractor statute applies to the...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Employee or Franchisee? Or Both? September 2021 News Update

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In the same month that 7-Eleven prevailed in a federal court trial where convenience store franchisees claimed they were not independent contractors but rather employees entitled to the protections of state labor laws, a...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: Is Matco the Next Jan-Pro?

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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

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: AB 5’s Preemptive Strike

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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

Lewitt Hackman

Competing Tests: Employee or Independent Contractor? Saving the Franchise Model

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Download PDF Assembly Bill 5 took effect in California on January 1, 2020 and governs when a business can treat a worker as an employee as opposed to an independent contractor. Under AB5 and its “ABC” test, a hiring entity...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: The Wrong Tools to Avoid California Courts

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The Ninth Circuit ruled that a California Matco Tool franchisee, John Fleming, could bring a class action wage and hour suit in California, even though a forum selection clause in the distribution agreement specified Ohio...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchise 101: California Assembly Bill 5 (2019)

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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

ArentFox Schiff

Lovin' It: Ninth Circuit Rules McDonald's is Not a Joint Employer with Franchisee in California

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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

ArentFox Schiff

Lovin' It: Ninth Circuit Rules McDonald's is Not a Joint Employer with Franchisee in California

ArentFox Schiff on

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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

McDonald’s Fries Franchise Workers’ Claims, Lands Whopper of a Ruling for Franchisors

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

BCLP

New California Law Disrupts Franchise Relationships

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Winter is coming for franchisors in California.  Last year, the California Supreme Court decided to hold California businesses liable for the violation of Massachusetts labor statutes when it adopted the ABC test for...more

FordHarrison

Ninth Circuit Applies Dynamex Retroactively

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In 2018, the California Supreme Court adopted the “ABC test” for determining whether workers are independent contractors under California wage orders (the Dynamex decision). For a discussion of that decision....more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisee 101: Un-Merry Maids

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Employees of a Merry Maids home cleaning franchise brought a class action against the franchisee, the franchisor, its owner and affiliated entities claiming they were joint employers. A California federal district court...more

Fisher Phillips

January 2019: The Top 16 Labor And Employment Law Stories

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It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more

Fisher Phillips

Ohio Limits Joint Employment Status For Franchisors

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Ohio recently amended its definition of “employer” in order to limit the joint employer status of franchisors. Effective March 20, 2019, franchisors will not be considered joint employers with their franchisees unless one of...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Spotlight on No-Poach Agreements Continues, Expands to New Industries

In recent weeks, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has continued to expand his efforts to eradicate the use of no-poach agreements by employers. The targets of his investigation are companies that have included...more

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