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
A bill passed by the California Senate on May 22, 2024, Senate Bill No. 919 (“Bill 919”), will address a gap in the regulation of franchise sales – namely, a lack of transparency regarding the role and background of...more
Do you use a staffing agency to provide workers for your day-to-day operations? Are you a franchisor that licenses your trademark and business model to franchisees? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions,...more
In an important case of first impression that drew amicus participation from the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the International Franchise Association, the Seventh Circuit reversed a judgment in...more
When a business is deciding to franchise its concept, the task “to-do” list is never-ending. Identifying the most critical issues and deciphering what are “necessities” vs. “nice-ities” for an emerging brand was the topic of...more
In the last year, we reviewed three attacks on franchising, questioned whether franchising was in the crosshairs of federal regulators and legislators, and concluded that the answer was yes....more
Franchisors faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. Enactment of California’s Assembly Bill 5 on January 1, 2020 was just the tip of an iceberg. As the COVID-19 pandemic upended franchise systems across all industries,...more
On November 17, 2020, the International Franchise Association (IFA) filed suit in the U.S. District for the Southern District of California, challenging California’s AB 5 as it is applied to franchise relationships. The IFA’s...more
Download PDF Assembly Bill 5 took effect in California on January 1, 2020 and governs when a business can treat a worker as an employee as opposed to an independent contractor. Under AB5 and its “ABC” test, a hiring entity...more
I recently attended a very informative panel discussion at this year’s IFA Legal Symposium in Washington D.C. earlier this month on addressing data security risks in franchise systems. The panel, consisting of two attorneys...more
Each year in Washington D.C., the IFA joins forces with the International Bar Association’s Franchising Committee (IBA) to hold the IBA/IFA Joint Conference immediately after the IFA Legal Symposium. This was my first year...more
For more than 55 years, the International Franchise Association has been committed to improving methods and business practices for all participants in franchising - whether working with the Federal Trade Commission, lobbying...more
In December 2014, we reported that the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had issued 13 complaints naming McDonald's as a “joint employer” of the employees at its franchisees. The complaints alleged...more