News & Analysis as of

Independent Contractors Franchisee ABC Test

Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent... more +
Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is not always an easy determination. However, due to differences in tax and liability treatment, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can have serious consequences. Autonomy is the defining feature of independent contractor arrangements. Independent contractors control the manner and method of how work is performed while payers control the desired result. Control over schedule and number of hours worked, ownership of equipment or tools, permanency of relationship, and acceptance of jobs from multiple entities are all possible factors in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.   less -
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Franchisee vs. Employee Classification

In the ever-evolving landscape of employment law, a recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) opinion, Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc., has shed light on a critical question: When is a franchisee considered an employee of the...more

Lathrop GPM

Ninth Circuit Affirms Decision that Franchisees Are Not Employees of Franchisor

Lathrop GPM on

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

Fisher Phillips

7-Eleven Franchise Owners Not Deemed Employees Under Massachusetts Law

Fisher Phillips on

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

Fox Rothschild LLP

A Franchisee-Franchisor Relationship Cannot Be A Defense In An Independent Contractor Action

Fox Rothschild LLP on

When a company issues franchises, and the workers (in this case janitors) claim they are not independent contractors and sue the franchise company, can that “relationship” be posited as a defense?...more

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP

Massachusetts SJC Holds that Independent Contractor Statute Applies to Franchisees

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

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: Preemption Preempted

Lewitt Hackman on

Patel v. 7-Eleven, a case in Massachusetts, has been closely watched since the ABC test took hold of franchise relationships in employee misclassification cases across the country. A putative class of 7-Eleven franchisees...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Patel, et al. v. 7-Eleven, Inc., et al – While the Massachusetts’ Independent Contractor Statute May Apply to Franchise...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued a much-anticipated decision in Patel, et al. v. 7-Eleven, Inc., et al. answering a certified question from the United States Court...more

Foley Hoag LLP

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

Foley Hoag LLP on

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

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: A Convenient Truth

Lewitt Hackman on

In 2017, four former franchisees brought a class action in California, claiming 7-Eleven owed them unreimbursed expenses. The ex-franchisees claimed they were employees, not independent contractors of 7-Eleven. The court...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: Is Matco the Next Jan-Pro?

Lewitt Hackman on

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

7-Eleven Franchisees Ask for Ninth Circuit’s Ruling on Employee Misclassification Suit

Foley & Lardner LLP on

On Wednesday, February 10, California 7-Eleven franchise owners asked U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer to allow the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on the district court’s previous denial of the franchisees’...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: California’s Dynamex/ABC Test is Retroactive

Lewitt Hackman on

In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the ABC Test announced in a California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal.5th 903 (2018) could apply to franchise...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: AB 5’s Preemptive Strike

Lewitt Hackman on

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

Franchise 101: California Assembly Bill 5 (2019)

Lewitt Hackman on

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

BCLP

New California Law Disrupts Franchise Relationships

BCLP on

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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Entrepreneurial Opportunity and Control - Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Foley & Lardner LLP on

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has once again weighed in on the proverbial employee-independent contractor issue, this time by way of its General Counsel. On April 16, 2019, the General Counsel’s office issued an...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: Franchisor Can Be Liable as “Employer” for Missclassifying Workers

Lewitt Hackman on

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

Polsinelli

Back to the Future (Again): NLRB Returns to Traditional Independent Contractor Test

Polsinelli on

On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc. (367 NLRB No. 75), overruled the Obama-era 2014 FedEx Home Delivery (361 NLRB 610) decision and returned to its traditional...more

18 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide