3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
5 Key Takeaways | Franchising in the USA: Challenges for Latin American Brands
Class Action | Eleventh Circuit Reinstates No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King
Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
A Maryland federal district court denied a restaurant franchisor’s motion to dismiss, concluding that a restaurant manager at a franchised location alleged sufficient facts to support a finding that the franchisor is a joint...more
A Texas court of appeals affirmed judgment in favor of a plaintiff who claimed a franchisor was vicariously liable for a franchisee’s employee’s wrongful conduct....more
In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
Introduction - No-poach agreements, wherein companies agree not to solicit or hire employees away from a competitor, have been targeted by the White House, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division....more
The Seventh Circuit recently revived an antitrust challenge to a clause in McDonald’s franchise agreements barring franchises from poaching other franchises’ employees. (See our previous coverage of antitrust challenges to...more
In Deslandes v. McDonald’s USA LLC, issued August 25, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned the dismissal of antitrust claims that challenged no-poach clauses in franchise agreements....more
Arrington v. Burger King Worldwide, Inc., No. 20-13561 (11th Cir. Aug. 31, 2022) – In October 2018, a former line cook of a Burger King franchise restaurant in Illinois, filed a class action complaint in the District Court...more
A federal court recently ruled that 7-Eleven franchise owners are not employees of the franchisor, the latest development in a long-running legal saga challenging their status as independent contractors. However, this...more
Partner Jay Bogan recently discussed the Eleventh Circuit Reinstating No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King....more
A federal appellate court held that Burger King and its franchisees may violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act (antitrust) by engaging in concerted action when entering into “no-hire” agreements. The appellate court reversed...more
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that an antitrust challenge to a “hiring restriction [that] prevented” plaintiff employees “from taking a better-paying position with a...more
On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) determined that the Massachusetts independent contractor statute (G. L. c. 149, § 148B) applies within the franchisor-franchisee context and does not...more
A Texas appeals court affirmed a lower court judgment in favor of Pizza Hut and its franchisee for claims of an alleged sexual assault by a delivery driver. The appellate court held Pizza Hut was not liable for the...more
That which is old is new again. The U.S. Department of Justice and plaintiffs’ lawyers are taking aim at non-solicitation agreements restricting mobility of labor. This isn’t something employers usually think about. ...more
Washington State’s Attorney General settled a case against sandwich franchisor, Jersey Mike’s, over antipoaching provisions in its franchise agreements. Since 2018, Washington State has made agreements with more than 60...more
The recent antitrust attacks on no-poach clauses encourage insomnia among franchise lawyers. But is the attack serious or just a flash in the pan, soon to be extinguished? The insomnia began in the tech industry, where...more
Since issuing the DOJ/FTC Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals in 2016, the DOJ Antitrust Division has remained active in enforcing and commenting on agreements among employers not to compete for hiring...more
Yesterday, Washington’s Governor, Jay Inslee signed HB1450 [PDF] which targets the use of restrictive covenants in the State of Washington (the “Non-Compete Act”). The signing of the Non-Compete Act follows the recent...more
• The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have indicated in the past that they believe that certain agreements between employers not to poach each other’s employees are...more
WHAT HAPPENED: • The Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in three related cases in the Eastern District of Washington yesterday dealing with alleged “no-poach” (or non-solicitation) agreements between...more
Over the last 18 months, no-poach provisions in franchise agreements have drawn considerable attention from academics, state attorneys general, politicians, and the class action plaintiffs’ bar. Originally published in...more
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
To most people, “poaching” is a bad thing, connoting a mix of elephant hunting and mediocre eggs. But in labor and employment—where “poaching” means recruiting away another employer’s talent—antitrust regulators, legislators,...more
In the midst of a federal effort to ramp up antitrust prosecutions of companies agreeing not to recruit or hire each other’s employees special scrutiny – and criticism – has been directed toward the use of no-poach agreements...more
We recently wrote that the Department of Justice’s and the Federal Trade Commission’s announcements condemning no-poaching agreements have sparked civil class actions, including a putative class action against Jimmy John’s....more