Amidst the continuing pandemic, summer brings faint hope that someday things might return to business as usual. For the franchise industry, recent events offer a hint of normality. In Part 1 of this early summer round-up, we take a look at the actions taken by Congress to legislate some flexibility into Payroll Protection Plan loans
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
Positive News on the Joint Employer Front!
In 2014, David Weil assumed the reins at the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division. Dr. Weil, an economic scholar, set his sights on the concept of joint employment. In academia, his work focused on what he termed a “fissured” employment model, one in which a worker’s economic position depended not only on his
What “Never” to Negotiate in Franchise Agreements – Part 3
The Fox Rothschild associate team of Megan Center and Alex Radus recently gave a presentation at the International Franchise Expo in New York City on the “Top Ten Provisions to ‘Never’ Negotiate in a Franchise Agreement”. A summary of this presentation will be prepared in four separate blog posts. The first post focused on central
The Franchisor is Liable for Franchisee’s Submission of Fraudulent Tax Statements?!
In Lomeli v. Jackson Hewitt, Inc., the United States District Court in the Central District of California held that the plaintiff, Luis Lomeli (“Lomeli”), had submitted enough evidence to hold the franchisor (“Jackson Hewitt”) vicariously liable for potential class actions due to a franchisee’s preparation and submission of fraudulent tax returns. The most concerning
Broad Provisions in Franchise Agreement: How Far is too Far?
The fight against joint employment of franchisors and franchisees took a small hit when the Western District of Pennsylvania (“Court”) chose to allow a franchisee’s employee’s suit to proceed. In Harris v. Midas, et. al., the plaintiff, Hannah Harris (“Harris”), convinced the Court that she had proffered enough evidence to allege a plausible basis