On September 28, 2021, Fox Rothschild partner Craig Tractenberg with Rochelle Spandorf from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP provided perspectives on drafting licenses and distribution agreements respecting the evergreen issue of creating an accidental franchise in a Strafford Publications webinar. They also discussed best practices for complying with federal and state franchise and business opportunity laws
Webinar: The Pandemic’s Impact on I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things, including employment verification. Does your franchise system understand the special provisions the federal government instituted in the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process as a result of the pandemic? If not, you could quickly find yourself on the wrong side of the law.
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Franchises Have NIL Questions . . . We Have (Some) Answers
Starting on July 1, 2021. the NCAA permitted student-athletes throughout the country to profit from their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”). This decision marks a major shift from the NCAA’s longstanding amateurism model. Twenty-eight states have also enacted their own NIL laws, and sixteen of those—including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio,
FTC: You Are Only as Good as Your Weakest Service Provider
Contributed by Odia Kagan.
This blog has discussed the importance of ensuring and auditing your vendors’ data security practices. A recent enforcement action from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) drives home the importance of being proactive about vendors and data security.
Specifically, the FTC recently entered into an enforcement action with an analytics company
New COVID Restrictions in Pennsylvania Hit Franchising . . . Hard
At 4 p.m. today, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (who himself has tested positive for COVID) and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine issued new, “limited-time”, targeted COVID mitigation orders. The orders hit the franchise industry hard. About the only silver-lining is that, unlike the indefinite restrictions imposed last spring, these new restrictions have a specific time
What the Heck Does Yellow Phase Re-Opening Mean (Pennsylvania)? (Updated 5/31/20)
Let’s posit you have operations in Pennsylvania, where I live, and those operations are in located in one of the Northcentral or Northwestern Counties (including Erie) that went to Yellow Phase on May 8th, one of the Southwestern Counties
THE BALLAD OF THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE: FASB delays ASC 606
Surprise! On April 8th, FASB delayed for one year the implementation of the new ASC 606 revenue recognition standards for private companies,[1] citing the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to delaying implementation, FASB indicated it would investigate “how to reduce implementation costs relating to applying Topic 606 to initial franchise fees.” While the
FDD Item 19 Financial Performance Representations in the Age of COVID-19
With most non-essential businesses closed across the country, it is easy to forget we are two weeks away from the April 30th Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) update deadline for franchisors with a calendar fiscal year end. Some franchise systems are delaying the preparation and issuance of an updated 2020 FDD and corresponding state renewal registrations.
A Rough Roll-Out for Payroll Protection Loans
Need and speed can be a dangerous combination. Just ask Peter “Maverick” Mitchell. That’s a lesson that lenders and borrowers are discovering with CARES Act Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. The CARES Act’s PPP provisions promise accessible liquidity support for franchises and small businesses. Indeed, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said PPP or Emergency Income
(Some) Good News: SBA Guidance Mostly Exempts Franchises from Affiliation Rules for Paycheck Protection Act Loans
On April 3, 2020, banks commenced taking applications for the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”), Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) loans, as provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act aka the CARES Act. At the highest level, the PPP allows eligible businesses to borrow up to 2.5x average monthly payroll costs