In a long-awaited decision, the Quebec Court of Appeals has found in favor of a group of 21 Dunkin’ franchisees in a suit that was initiated back in 2005. The judgement by the appellate court affirms the lower court decision holding a franchisor responsible for maintaining the strength of the brand and supporting the brand’s…
Read More »We were delighted with the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court a week ago affirming that franchise owners have to right to decide whether to allow tipping in their stores. Meshna v Scrivanos was decided in favor of the franchise owner after the case was taken from the appellate court docket for direct review…
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DDIFO amicus brief was right on the money! Back in January, 2014, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in the state, took up on direct appellate review the no tipping issues presented in the case of Meshna v Scrivanos. DDIFO acted quickly and in concert with the attorney for DD franchisee and plaintiff,…
Read More »In what one might argue is positive news coming out of Washington, Attorney General Holder has announced new limits on the Department of Justice’s ability to seize assets of private businesses for suspected ‘structuring’ (manipulating cash deposits to under $10,000 to avoid IRS reporting requirements). Under the new policy on asset forfeiture, assets will not…
Read More »US Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez testified before Congress a week ago on the DOL budget request and in so doing, gave an impression that there will be increased enforcement by his department on perceived wage and hour violations. Aside from minimum wage issues, the Obama administration is increasing their focus on overtime pay. During…
Read More »The Supreme Court of the United States this week agreed with a pregnant UPS worker’s contention that the lower court erred in finding in favor of UPS and remanded the case to the Fourth Circuit court. Interestingly, the Supreme Court rejected both of the actual claims put forth by attorneys for Peggy Young, the pregnant…
Read More »Speaking of lawsuits and court decisions, the lawsuit initiated last year by the International Franchise Association (IFA) in the wake of Seattle passing a new $15 minimum wage law suffered a major defeat when the US District Court in Seattle rejected all of the IFA arguments and refused to enjoin the law, which will take…
Read More »In a clear blow to franchise industry interests, the International Franchise Association’s lawsuit seeking to enjoin the Seattle Minimum Wage law from taking effect as scheduled on April 1 was denied by the Federal Court in Seattle. In its decision, the court rejected every IFA argument that allowing certain provisions of the law to take…
Read More »The US Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments this week on the issue of tax credits being utilized in the Affordable Care Act. The issue stems from language in the health care law (“We have to pass the health care bill so we can find out what’s in it.” – then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi) that authorizes a…
Read More »We’re all following the NLRB push to include franchisors as “joint employers” so as to ease unionizing efforts, but now comes a new fight to expand that definition. Last week, 10 former employees of a Virginia McDonald’s restaurant filed a civil rights suit alleging racial harassment and discrimination against the franchisee, but the lawsuit also…
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