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Independent Contractors Franchisee Franchises

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 -
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Upholds 7-Eleven Franchise System in Denying Franchisees’ Challenge to Their Independent...

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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

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

Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Rules That Typical Franchise Operators Are Independent Contractors, Not Employees

On September 5, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that 7-Eleven franchisees operating in a “typical” franchisor-franchisee relationship were independent contractors and not “employees” of 7-Eleven,...more

Lathrop GPM

First Circuit Certifies Second Employee Misclassification Question to Massachusetts Supreme Court in Ongoing 7-Eleven Case

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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

Lathrop GPM

Maine Federal Court Grants Franchisor’s Motion to Dismiss Age Discrimination Claim Brought by Franchisee’s Independent Contractor

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A federal court in Maine granted a franchisor’s motion to dismiss claims asserting that a franchisor was liable for its franchisee’s alleged age discrimination in employment. Goodwill v. Anywhere Real Est., 2023 WL 4034372...more

Lathrop GPM

Ninth Circuit Affirms Decision that Franchisees Are Not Employees of Franchisor

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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

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

Eleventh Circuit Serves a Whopper of a Ruling on Franchisor’s ‘No-Poach’/‘No-Hire’ Agreement With Franchisees

​​​​​​​Over the last several years, business-to-business “no-hire” and “no-poach” agreements have come under legal attack, including through enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission and criminal prosecutions by the...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

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

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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

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisor 101: Preemption Preempted

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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...

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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

Benesch

Democrat-led NLRB Eyes New Independent Contractor and Joint Employer Tests

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The Democrat-majority National Labor Relations Board readied for 2022 by announcing plans to confront two President Trump-era legal tests - one that determines whether an independent contractor is actually an employee...more

Lewitt Hackman

Franchisee 101: Jani-King Franchisees Wear Many Crowns

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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

Lathrop GPM

The Franchise Memorandum - Issue # 262

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California Supreme Court Applies Independent Contractor Standard Retroactively; Does Not Reach Applicability to Franchises - The California Supreme Court has held that its Dynamex decision applies retroactively, answering...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

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

Fox Rothschild LLP

Time To Exhale . . . CAUTIOUSLY: Ninth Circuit Has Good News For Franchisors

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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

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

Lewitt Hackman

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

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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

Locke Lord LLP

February 2019 Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News Update

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One need only glance at the court cases we report on below to understand why some businesses choose to settle independent contractor misclassification cases.  Three of these cases highlight the unpredictable approaches...more

Holland & Knight LLP

NLRB Restores Common Law Agency Test for Independent Contractor/Employee Status Under NLRA

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• In SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, or Board) majority overruled its 2014 decision in FedEx Home Delivery and held that shuttle-van-driver franchisees of SuperShuttle at Dallas Fort Worth...more

Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation

Are Franchisees Employees? California Court Says No

In October 2017, four franchisees filed a federal complaint against the global convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, seeking to represent a purported class of over 1,000 similarly situated 7-Eleven franchisees in California. The...more

Lewitt Hackman

FRANCHISEE 101: Special Delivery

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For a relationship to meet the legal definition of a "franchise" in some jurisdictions, the franchisor must give significant assistance to, or have significant control over, the franchisee's business. A franchisor's...more

Troutman Pepper

November 2016 Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News Update

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Our news update for last month highlights the fact that IC misclassification lawsuits are happening across the country and in virtually every industry, both in the on-demand economy and in more traditional business sectors....more

Littler

Canada: Time for Submissions Soon Expiring in Ontario under Changing Workplace Review

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As previously reported, the Special Advisors to the Government of Ontario, Canada released their interim report on July 27, 2016 on ways in which the Ontario Labour Relations Act (“LRA”) and Ontario Employment Standards Act,...more

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

The Employment Law Authority - September/October 2015

On October 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning new rules for extending the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for international students...more

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