The California version of the ABC test is arguably the most hostile to franchising. Nonetheless, the risk is not confined to California.
This is because the ABC employee classification test,
Continue Reading Franchising Threat No. 3: Other State Legislation and Policies
The second troublesome threat is the joint employment standard. The Obama Adminstration DOL caused angst in the franchise industry in January 2016, when it adopted a joint employment standard that
Continue Reading Franchising Threat No. 2: Joint Employment is BACK!
The PRO Act would do serious, and perhaps mortal, damage to the franchise industry. It would make sweeping changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Labor Management Relations
Continue Reading Franchising Threat No. 1: The PRO Act
Omens of the Apocalypse for the franchise industry are everywhere:
Continue Reading Legal Threats to the Franchise Industry: Is this the Apocalypse? (Part 1)
It was predictable – even inevitable – that the Biden administration would reverse much of Trump’s labor oeuvre. But no one could have predicted how quickly! In a little more
Continue Reading WHIPLASH! A stunningly fast reversal of labor policies
Buried deep in the roughly 5,500 pages of the most recent COVID relief legislation are two unexpected gifts for trademark owners. One of those gifts, the Trademark Modernization Act:
Continue Reading A COVID Bonus for Trademark Owners: Presumptive Injunctive Relief and Sweeping Away Old Marks
The one-two punch of state and federal employment standards activity poses an existential threat to franchising; many commentators, including this one, have acknowledged that fact. But why? Did the California
Continue Reading Unintended Consequences? The Employment Battle Threatens Franchising
Over the last 8 years or so, the ever-changing landscape of employment laws has arguably posed an existential threat to franchising. The franchise business model may not make sense if
Continue Reading Franchising on the Precipice: Unknowns in Transition
Hot on the heels of disappointing AB-5 news from California, a federal district court in Manhattan delivered a stinging rebuke to the Department of Labor (“DOL”), invalidating the control-based joint
Continue Reading Joint Employment in Chaos: DOL Joint Employment Rule Invalidated
As if COVID, wildfires, and heat weren’t enough, California franchisors and franchisees suffered another gut punch when the legislature rejected a proposed franchise exemption to AB-5.
When AB-5 was enacted
Continue Reading No Joy for Franchising in CA: AB-5 Exemption Rejected