Although it should come as a surprise to nobody involved in the franchise business model, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is resurrecting the Obama-era joint employer standard that caused much angst within the industry. The agency has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday of this week, that…
Read More »Earlier this month, the US Circuit Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should revisit the ruling the board rendered two years ago regarding joint-employer status. A three-judge panel of the court determined that “the ruling for Browning-Ferris Industries Inc in 2020 failed to explain why it had…
Read More »There is more trouble coming down the pike from the NLRB in the form of revisions to a couple of regulations from the agency. As we’ve seen in the past, General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has been aggressive in pushing to overturn past decisions by the NLRB that upheld the position of business interests. Now, with…
Read More »As we have advised in the past, there is a dangerous legislative proposal advancing in California, AB 257, the so-called FAST Act (the Fast-Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act). This bill has already passed the Assembly and is currently pending in the State Senate, where it will likely have an easier time winning support. As…
Read More »Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the independent contractor statute also applies to the franchisor-franchisee relationship and does not conflict with the FTC Franchise Rule 7-Eleven franchisees may in fact qualify as employees under the state ABC test. With its decision in Patel v 7-Eleven, Inc. the court in some ways “threaded…
Read More »On Monday of this week, the California Assembly passed AB 257, the so-called FAST Act and sent it to the Senate for its approval. Needing 41 votes to pass the Assembly where it died last session, the Fast-Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, prevailed on a 41-21 vote on the last day before such a “holdover bill”…
Read More »The District Court for the District of Southern California has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the validity of California’s AB5 law. The challenge, which was filed by the International Franchise Association (IFA) along with DDIFO, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and the Supercuts Franchisee Association (SFA) back in November 2020, centered around California‘s ABC…
Read More »With the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially rescinding the joint employer standard developed during the Trump administration – a new standard becomes effective next Tuesday, September 28, 2021 – one would think the issue was off the radar. That is not the case however, as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed suit in…
Read More »It took quite a bit of time for newly installed General Counsel at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Jennifer Abruzzo to win final Senate confirmation to the post, but she’s not wasting any time in setting a new tone for the agency now that she’s in the position. Shortly after she was sworn into…
Read More »As we warned just about one month ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week that it had officially rescinded the Trump administration definition of joint employer. An array of Democrat Attorney Generals had filed a number of lawsuits (some were successful and are on appeal) challenging several provisions of the Trump-era joint…
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