Co-authored by Christopher Truxler and Coby Turner
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier this month, a California federal court dismissed the misclassification claims of 7-Eleven franchisees on the pleadings, finding they did not and could not plead facts sufficient to show that they were employees of their franchisor.
All is well with one of America’s most beloved convenience stores. In October 2017, four
Continue Reading Oh Thank Heaven, Franchisees Not Employees of 7-Eleven!
Co-authored by Julie Yap and Billie Pierce
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal court in California recently held that a franchisor cannot be held liable for labor code claims where it did not exercise control directly, or through an actual agency relationship with the employer, over the terms and conditions of the workers’ employment. The decision limits claims against independent businesses based
Continue Reading Federal Court Serves Up Satisfying Seconds For California Franchisors: No Ostensible Agency Liability For Franchisees’ Alleged Labor Code Violations
Authored by Rachel M. Hoffer
It’s a common business model in the fast-food industry: a massive restaurant company provides the menu, the marketing—including catchy slogans and a universally recognized logo—and the basic operational standards for the restaurant,
and a franchisee provides the rest—including hiring, training, and firing restaurant employees. Unfortunately for the fast-food giants (the notorious FFGs, if you will)
Authored by Alex Passantino
Seyfarth Synopsis: WHD is seeking to enter into compliance agreements with, among others, franchisors. Whether an employer should take WHD up on their offer to sign on the line depends on a variety of considerations.
Expanding upon a relationship started in 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division and Subway announced a voluntary
Continue Reading Should Franchisors Become BFFs with WHD?