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Franchise 101: Trashing the Competition; and Meet the New Boss
Franchisor 101: Trashing the Competition A trash collection business brought claims against a franchisor and franchisee of Smash My Trash, a mobile waste compacting brand. The business, Republic Services of Kansas City, claimed the defendants
Pending Governmental Intrusions on Franchisors & Franchisees
Assembly Bill 257 and Senate Bill 1247 are now pending in the California legislature. Their passage could intrude on franchisors’ and franchisees’ abilities to conduct business in California. AB 257 On June 28, 2022, the
California Employers: Minimum Wage Increase July 1, 2022
Given the current state of inflation, minimum wage increases in many California municipalities will be going into effect as of July 1, 2022. Although a state-wide minimum wage of $15.00 for all employers (regardless of
Franchise 101: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do; and Don’t Mess with Forum Selection Clauses
Franchisor 101: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do A federal district court in Nevada partly denied a franchisor’s summary judgment motion on claims brought by a franchisee. IJL Midwest entered into several franchise agreements with
Franchise 101: Call Option Claim Bends; and Small Business on Main Street
Franchisor 101: Call Option Claim Bends A Delaware court found a yoga studio franchisee was entitled to an order requiring the franchisor to buy all of the franchisee’s yoga studios in six states. The court
No break from penalties – CA Supreme Court holds unpaid premiums give rise to waiting time penalties
The California Supreme Court published its decision in Gustavo Naranjo et al., v. Spectrum Security Services holding that employers who fail to pay for meal or rest break premiums, may also be responsible for waiting
Franchise 101: ADA Claim is (Not) Under Control; and Docked Injunction
Franchisor 101: ADA Claim Is (Not) Under Control A deaf customer brought an Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) suit against Yum! Brands, Inc. (“Yum!”), parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit
Cal/OSHA’s Revised COVID-19 Standards Up for Approval
On April 21, 2022, the California Occupation Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) voted to re-adopt a revised version of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”). Once approved the revised ETS will go into effect
Franchise 101: Preemption Preempted; and Kentucky Fried Impact Study
Franchisor 101: Preemption Preempted Patel v. 7-Eleven, a case in Massachusetts, has been closely watched since the ABC test took hold of franchise relationships in employee misclassification cases across the country. A putative class of
New Laws Could Curb SBA Guaranteed Lending to Franchisees
On March 16, 2022, the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee held a hearing on the Small Business Administration’s future on guaranteeing lenders’ loans to franchisees under S.1120, the Small Business Administration Franchise Loan Transparency Act, and S.2162,