In recent blogs, we identified serious threats to the franchise industry – the Protect the Right to Organize (“PRO”) Act, joint employer standards, state ABC laws, and the new Biden Administration guard at the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board (which looks suspiciously like the old Obama Administration guard.
It’s Deja Vu All Over Again at the NLRB
With apologies (and props) to the great Yogi Berra, it’s deja vu all over again at the National Labor Relations Board. The Board has extended the commenting period on its proposed joint employer rulemaking for a second time. Comments to the proposed rule may
Save Local Business Act moves one step closer to limiting joint employer liability
The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce recently approved the “Save Local Business Act” (HR 3441 – Byrne). If enacted, the Act would limit joint employer liability by reversing the rule announced by the NLRB in Browning-Ferris Industries, 362 NLRB No. 186. The Browning-Ferris decision departed from 30 years
Janitorial services franchisor cleans up on joint employer claim
Janitorial services franchisor Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. (“Jan-Pro”) is not the employer of its unit franchisees, according to a recent California federal court decision. Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc., No. C 16-05961 WHA (N.D. Cal. May 24, 2017). The plaintiff franchisees failed to show that Jan-Pro exercised sufficient control over their day-to-day employment
Joint employer claims move forward against hotel franchisor in sexual servitude suit
Browning-Ferris based claims against hotel franchisor Marriott International Incorporated (“Marriott”) will move forward, according to an Illinois federal court. The suit seeks to hold Marriott liable as a joint employer for the actions of its franchisee’s employee–a hotel assistant manager who allegedly coerced housekeepers into sexual “servitude.” Invoking the NLRB’s recent decision in Browning-Ferris Industries
Need an Explainer for the NLRB’s Efforts to Redefine Who Is an Employee?
We have written before about the NLRB’s efforts to adopt a “joint employer” doctrine. Specifically, the Board seems bound and determined to eliminate the legal distinction between franchisors and franchisees, at least with respect to who is the employer of the franchisee’s employees
Essentially,
NLRB Office of General Counsel: Franchisor is NOT joint employer with franchisee
In what many in the industry are likely to see as a commonsense result, a recent advice memorandum issued by the NLRB Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) concluded that franchisor Freshii Development, LLC (“Freshii”) was not a joint employer with its franchisee. Nutritionality, Inc. d/b/a Freshii, Case Nos. 13-CA-134294, 13-CA-138293, and 13-CA-142297 (Apr. 28,
New Congress Reintroduces NLRB Reform Bill
Back in September, we posted on the blog about a new bill introduced in the Senate aimed to reform the structure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). We promised to watch for any developments in the New Year. Well last week Senate Republicans Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander reintroduced the NLRB Reform
Must You Make Your Company Email Available to Employees for Union Activities?
In a reversal of prior precedent, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) late last week concluded that most employees may use their company’s email system for activities related to Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act; i.e., collective bargaining activities. The NLRB claimed
Watch Where You Place That Pickle! NLRB Rules Against Burger King Franchisee For “Union Busting” Activities
Last month the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that a multi-unit Burger King franchisee violated the National Labor Relations Act (Act) by threatening pro-union employees with termination; maintaining a policy that denied access to off-duty employees to all areas of its premises and