New York passed a cybersecurity and data breach law, effective October 23, and it expands many cybersecurity requirements to not only businesses operating in New York, but also those operating outside of the state. The SHIELD Act, as it is called, expands the scope of the current law by requiring covered entities to adopt a
Did You Know? NASAA Releases New Instructions
On May 19, 2019, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) adopted new state cover sheets and state effective dates page for franchise disclosure documents. Beginning on January 1, 2020, the FDD must now include three specific cover sheets prepared in accordance with the instructions and samples promulgated by NASAA.
All of these new pages
Does GDPR Apply to Your Brand? Fresh Answers Here.
Submitted by Odia Kagan, Partner & Chair of GDPR Compliance and International Privacy.
Does the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply to my brand? This is a question with which many U.S.-based franchisors have been grappling since the GDPR took effect on May 25th. Six months later, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
Are You Doing the Right Due Diligence as You Grow Your System?
In our last post, we examined some of the types of risk that come with growth. In this post, we discuss some forms of diligence that may be used to better manage that risk.
Diligence on Legal Matters
Are there operating hour ordinances that might affect the business? How about limitations on operating hours or
Change is Inevitable and Some Requires Special Handling
Change is inevitable in a franchise system, and disclosure then becomes a concern. Disclosure may be a business issue for the existing franchisees, but it becomes a legal issue in the offer and sale of franchises. The question is whether the information would be considered by a hypothetical purchaser of a franchise as significant. Case
Employers Beware: ICE Is Ramping Up I-9 Audits to Record Levels
On Fox’s Immigration View blog, my partner Alka Bahal provides a detailed exploration of the I-9 inspection process, in the wake of a recent surge in I-9 audits carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. All employers in the United States are required to have a Form I-9 on file for
NASAA’s Proposed FDD Cover Page Changes: Helpful or Misleading?
The North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. (“NASAA”) is proposing to revise the instructions in the NASAA Franchise Registration and Disclosure Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) that outline policies and procedures regarding the preparation of a franchise disclosure document (“FDD”). Specifically, NASAA has set forth a proposal for public comment that replaces the “State Cover Page” to
(Almost) All Your Tricky FDD Drafting Questions Answered
Almost every year at the IFA Annual Legal Symposium in Washington D.C., a panel of distinguished franchise attorneys and state regulators will discuss best practices in drafting a franchise disclosure document in compliance with the FTC Franchise Rule. This year was no different and the workshop “Thorny FDD Disclosure Issues” offered
State Regulatory Roundup (ABA Franchise Forum Retrospective)
Each year the ABA Forum on Franchising Annual Meeting offers a regulatory roundup on state disclosure and registration issues consisting of a panel of franchise examiners from some of the most difficult registration states. This past year in Palm Desert regulators
What Types of Franchise Sellers Must Register in Washington?
Michelle Webster, a franchise financial legal examiner with the State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions, took a few minutes at the start of the ABA Forum on Franchising’s Annual Meeting seminar on disclosures to discuss the registration of franchise brokers in Washington. The main takeaway? If you sell franchises in Washington, then there