3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
AGG Talks: Cross-Border Business - Navigating Inbound Franchising in the U.S.
One Month to More Effective Compliance on Business Ventures - Day 19 - Franchisor Compliance
This Am Law 200 partner is using Twitter to build his practice and authority - Legally Contented podcast
5 Key Takeaways | Franchising in the USA: Challenges for Latin American Brands
Is Franchising Doomed?
Starting an Esports Franchise With Guests Brett Diamond and Annie Scott Riley of Version1 and the Minnesota ROKKR
6 Key Takeaways | National Labor Relations Board Issues New Final Rule on Joint Employers
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
II-27 - Our 1st Anniversary Special: Bringing Back Our Inaugural Guest to Discuss What Was and What Will Still Be With President Trump
Inside NFL's Jaguars Owner's Fulham FC Purchase
Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court answered “no” to a certified question from the First Circuit Court of Appeals asking whether plaintiff franchisees “‘perform any service’ for 7-Eleven within the meaning of [the...more
One of the most important legal developments last month is a new lawsuit filed by registered nurses against a leading health care system alleging that they have been misclassified as independent contractors instead of...more
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, answering a certified question, has ruled that five 7-Eleven franchisees were independent contractors, not misclassified “employees,” under the Massachusetts Independent Contractor...more
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) governs private sector labor/management relations in the United States. Under the NLRA, employers have certain responsibilities and restrictions with regard to their employees,...more
In the latest of a string of decisions seemingly supporting President Biden’s claim of being the most pro-union president in history, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week issued its Final Rule on the Standard...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Court the question of whether franchisee plaintiffs in an ongoing case pass the threshold inquiry under the state’s three-prong employee...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision that a group of franchisees are not employees of their franchisor, even though the trial court failed to apply the correct test. Haitayan v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 2022...more
ARIZONA- Pursuant to H.B. 2146, employers must notify the Arizona Department of Homeland Security about any security breach involving personal information, if more than 1,000 state residents (including employees and...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently issued three decisions with significant implications for employers in the commonwealth, holding that (1) when an employer pays wages to an employee after the deadlines...more
On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) handed down a key ruling that could have a significant impact on franchising across the state. In Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc., the SJC was asked whether the...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just held that 7-Eleven franchisees may be employees of 7-Eleven under Massachusetts wage and hour law. The March 24 decision in Dhananjay Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc. will have significant...more
Past and present franchisees of commercial cleaning service franchisor, Jani-King, brought claims for violation of Connecticut minimum wage and anti-kickback laws, and unjust enrichment. They claimed Jani-King misclassified...more
The California version of the ABC test is arguably the most hostile to franchising. Nonetheless, the risk is not confined to California. This is because the ABC employee classification test, with variations, has been...more
Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is looking to reverse many of the Trump administration’s employer-friendly initiatives and rules. Those reversals include: •Setting aside...more
From a ballot measure in California, to a court decision in Massachusetts, to federal regulations proposed by the Department of Labor, several recent developments could impact whether a franchisor’s independent franchisees...more
BB&K Partner Thomas O'Connell Explores the Independent Contractor Law's Impact on the Franchise Industry in a Southern California Newspaper Group Column - In enacting Assembly Bill 5 earlier this year, the California...more
NLRB Issues Final Joint Employer Rule. On February 26, the NLRB published its final rule governing joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. ...more
Seeking to tighten worker misclassification enforcement in New Jersey, on January 20, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a package of legislation to add misclassification penalties, allow stop-work orders against...more
The battle over the scope and applicability of the so-called “ABC test” in determining California employers’ potential liability under wage and hour and other state labor laws continues unabated....more
I admit I was among the scores of franchise lawyers whose blood pressure skyrocketed with passage of California’s AB 5. If a Franchise Agreement establishes an independent contractor relationship between franchisor and...more
“Someday, California is going to disappear into the ocean.” That phrase usually refers to the San Andreas Fault. But for those in the franchise industry, it may now refer to AB-5, a new California law that calls for...more
On September 18, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new measure — Assembly Bill 5 — which will redefine how businesses classify their workers. Commonly known as “AB 5,” the new law seeks to codify the “ABC Test”...more
A recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision considered whether a franchisee who entered into a franchise agreement with a franchisor was an employee or an independent contractor. The fact-specific case, Modern Cleaning...more
The Ninth Circuit sent shockwaves through the franchise industry in ruling that last year’s California Supreme Court decision broadening who may bring wage misclassification claims (Dynamex v. Superior Court) applied...more
On May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc. held that the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court applied retroactively. ...more