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Independent Contractors Franchises

Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent... more +
Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is not always an easy determination. However, due to differences in tax and liability treatment, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can have serious consequences. Autonomy is the defining feature of independent contractor arrangements. Independent contractors control the manner and method of how work is performed while payers control the desired result. Control over schedule and number of hours worked, ownership of equipment or tools, permanency of relationship, and acceptance of jobs from multiple entities are all possible factors in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.   less -
Foley & Lardner LLP

DOL Alters Enforcement Position on Independent Contractors: What Does It Mean For Manufacturers and Franchisors?

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On May 1, 2025, the Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin stepping back from a restrictive independent contractor rule issued under the Biden...more

McCarter & English, LLP

Antitrust Guidelines for Worker-Related Business Practices: How to Stay on the Right Side of Antitrust Hiring Laws During the...

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) issued Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers (2025 Guidelines) in January. The 2025...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

A Parting Gift to Labor Markets: Outgoing Antitrust Enforcers Issue Revised Guidelines on Practices Affecting Workers, But Will...

In the final days of the Biden administration, the FTC and DOJ jointly issued antitrust guidelines on business practices that impact workers that replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, which...more

Morgan Lewis

DOJ and FTC Issue Antitrust Employment Law Guidelines on Eve of New Administration

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In the final days of the Biden administration and on the eve of significant agency turnover, the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new set of guidelines addressing...more

Jones Day

DOJ and FTC Issue New Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers

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During their last week in office, and over the vigorous dissent of Republican FTC commissioners, Biden administration antitrust officials unveil new guidelines intended to replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human...more

Lathrop GPM

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules that Franchisees Did Not Perform Services for Franchisor Within the Meaning of the...

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court answered “no” to a certified question from the First Circuit Court of Appeals asking whether plaintiff franchisees “‘perform any service’ for 7-Eleven within the meaning of [the...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Can Nurses Lawfully Be Classified as Independent Contractors? September 2024 IC Legal ‎News Update

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One of the most important legal developments last month is a new lawsuit filed by registered nurses against a leading health care system alleging that they have been misclassified as independent contractors instead of...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Massachusetts High Court Rules That Franchisees Are Independent Contractors

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In a win for businesses, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) has ruled that individuals in true franchisor-franchisee relationships are independent contractors....more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Oh, thank heaven! 7-Eleven franchisees were not misclassified “employees,” MA high court rules

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, answering a certified question, has ruled that five 7-Eleven franchisees were independent contractors, not misclassified “employees,” under the Massachusetts Independent Contractor...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Upholds 7-Eleven Franchise System in Denying Franchisees’ Challenge to Their Independent...

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On September 5, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) answered a second certified question in Patel, et al. v. 7-Eleven, Inc., et al. (“Patel II”), a long-running case where 7-Eleven franchisees claimed they...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Franchisee vs. Employee Classification

In the ever-evolving landscape of employment law, a recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) opinion, Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc., has shed light on a critical question: When is a franchisee considered an employee of the...more

Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

Supreme Judicial Court Rules That Typical Franchise Operators Are Independent Contractors, Not Employees

On September 5, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that 7-Eleven franchisees operating in a “typical” franchisor-franchisee relationship were independent contractors and not “employees” of 7-Eleven,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Some Individuals Acting as Franchisees Are Independent Contractors Under Massachusetts’ Strict Classification Test

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7-Eleven has been defending its position for years that individuals operating as franchisees of its retail stores in Massachusetts are not employees under that state’s strict Independent Contractor Law but rather are exempt...more

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

FTC Votes To Adopt Final Rule To Ban Non-Compete Agreements

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On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to publish the “Non-Compete Clause Rule” to ban employers from entering into non-compete clauses with workers on or after the effective date. The rule will be...more

McCarter & English, LLP

NLRB Establishes New Joint Employer Rule

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The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) governs private sector labor/management relations in the United States. Under the NLRA, employers have certain responsibilities and restrictions with regard to their employees,...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

NLRB Wants Employers to be Responsible for Contract, Franchise Workers

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In the latest of a string of decisions seemingly supporting President Biden’s claim of being the most pro-union president in history, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week issued its Final Rule on the Standard...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

NLRB Issues Final Rule on Joint-Employer Status

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On October 27, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published its final rule on the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act, effective December 26, 2023. The new rule...more

Lathrop GPM

First Circuit Certifies Second Employee Misclassification Question to Massachusetts Supreme Court in Ongoing 7-Eleven Case

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The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Court the question of whether franchisee plaintiffs in an ongoing case pass the threshold inquiry under the state’s three-prong employee...more

Lathrop GPM

Maine Federal Court Grants Franchisor’s Motion to Dismiss Age Discrimination Claim Brought by Franchisee’s Independent Contractor

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A federal court in Maine granted a franchisor’s motion to dismiss claims asserting that a franchisor was liable for its franchisee’s alleged age discrimination in employment. Goodwill v. Anywhere Real Est., 2023 WL 4034372...more

Cozen O'Connor

Getting Ready for Canada’s Upcoming Ban on Wage-Fixing & No-Poach Agreements

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Wage-fixing and no-poach agreements will be illegal and subject to criminal penalties and damages actions in Canada as of June 23, 2023, as part of a package of amendments to the Competition Act passed in 2022. The new...more

Lathrop GPM

Ninth Circuit Affirms Decision that Franchisees Are Not Employees of Franchisor

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision that a group of franchisees are not employees of their franchisor, even though the trial court failed to apply the correct test. Haitayan v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 2022...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

California’s Tectonic Plates Shift — Part III

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And so we come to the ultimate affront to franchising. Responding to strong lobbying efforts by the Service Employees International Union (SIEU), the California legislature passed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

California’s Tectonic Plates Shift — Part II

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Signed into law on September 18, 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Bill 5 (commonly known as AB-5), took effect on January 1, 2020. AB-5 codified the California Supreme Court’s June 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Eleventh Circuit Serves a Whopper of a Ruling on Franchisor’s ‘No-Poach’/‘No-Hire’ Agreement With Franchisees

​​​​​​​Over the last several years, business-to-business “no-hire” and “no-poach” agreements have come under legal attack, including through enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission and criminal prosecutions by the...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

A Franchisee-Franchisor Relationship Cannot Be A Defense In An Independent Contractor Action

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When a company issues franchises, and the workers (in this case janitors) claim they are not independent contractors and sue the franchise company, can that “relationship” be posited as a defense?...more

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