3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
One Month to More Effective Compliance on Business Ventures - Day 19 - Franchisor Compliance
Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Day 20 of One Month to More Effective Compliance for Business Ventures-Franchisor Liability
The SBA Franchise Directory is officially back online from June 1, 2025, and with it comes a series of critical updates for franchisors and franchisees discussed in the virtual briefing led by Stephen Olear, Senior Franchise...more
On Sept. 24, 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 919, the California Franchise Broker Law, into law. Officially titled the “Franchise Investment Law: Franchise Brokers,” the California Franchise Broker Law...more
The International Franchise Association’s Annual Convention is always filled with useful take home information for franchise practitioners. Last week, I attended the session “Proactive Strategies for Franchisors to Prevent...more
In May of last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sought to ban non-compete agreements in most employment contracts. Franchise agreements were an exception. However, before the rule could take effect in September, a...more
On January 31, 2025, Delegate Marc Korman of Montgomery County introduced Maryland House of Delegates Bill 992, entitled the Franchise Reform Act, which would make the first significant changes to the Maryland Franchise...more
Four days before President Trump took office, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) (together, “the Agencies”) under the Biden administration released their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business...more
In a win for businesses, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) has ruled that individuals in true franchisor-franchisee relationships are independent contractors....more
A federal law requires franchisor and franchisee business entities to disclose personal information and photographs of persons with ownership and control over their business....more
When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its long-awaited final rule banning virtually all noncompete clauses between workers and employers, it also published 500-plus pages of commentary....more
Most franchisors have thorough financial vetting requirements before allowing any person or business to become a franchisee. However, how many of these same businesses perform compliance due diligence on their prospective...more
In Travelodge Hotels, Inc. v. Durga, LLC, a hotel franchisor, Travelodge Hotels, Inc. (Travelodge), sued Durga LLC and its sole member (Durga), a hotel franchisee, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey,...more
On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that the Commonwealth’s independent contractor test applies to the franchisee-franchisor relationship. In Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc., the Court found that...more
I am often asked about franchisor liability under the FCPA. Franchising has been a successful model in the US and now many corporations are looking at overseas expansion opportunities. Franchise law has become well developed...more
The California Department of Business Oversight ("DBO") recently issued three Orders against franchisors for violating California's franchise laws....more
Labor and Employment - Plaintiff Wage and Hour Lawsuits Continue to Climb - Wage and hour litigation has become what some call the new "workplace revolution." Data from the Federal Judicial Center indicates that...more
California will notch another franchise regulatory distinction come January 1, 2016: home to the toughest franchisee-protection law in the nation. On October 11, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill amending the...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a 3-2 decision last Thursday gutted more than 30 years of legal precedent when it changed the joint employer standard in business relationships in a case involving Browning-Ferris...more
In This Issue: - SEC Pays First Whistleblower Award to Audit and Compliance Professional - Supreme Court Allows Affordable Care Act Contraceptives Religious Exemption - EEOC Adopts New Pregnancy...more