A bill introduced this month in the Florida Legislature threatens to fundamentally shift the balance of franchise relationships in the Sunshine State. SB 750, deceptively titled “Protect Florida Small Business Act,” represents the most expansive, invasive and burdensome franchise relationship law ever proposed in the United States, if not the world. Although it contains numerous provisions harmful to franchisors, franchisees and the public alike, the Act overwhelmingly subverts a franchisor’s ability to protect its brand…

McDonald’s Corp. recently agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed by workers of one of its franchisees. Stop the presses! Isn’t that the opposite of what McDonald’s should be doing?  Isn’t McDonald’s a leading player in fighting the idea that it is a joint employer of franchisee’s workers? Let’s back up a moment. In 2014, employees of a California McDonald’s franchise sued both the franchisee and McDonald’s Corp. for labor violations alleging…

On March 2, 2016, Wisconsin Senate Bill 422 was signed into law. This bill clarifies that a franchisor is not the employer of a franchisee’s employees under several areas of Wisconsin law:  unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation, Wisconsin’s wage and hour laws and Wisconsin’s fair employment laws. Employer liability will attach to a franchisor as it relates to franchisee’s employees only where: The franchisor has agreed in writing to assume that role; or The franchisor has…

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has weighed in on the joint employer issue, releasing an Administrator’s Interpretation (“AI”) setting forth the DOL’s position as it relates to joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. The joint employment concept under the FLSA is not new and the AI does not explicitly target franchising relationships, but it is important for franchisors to continue to review their…

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) Region Five Director (located in Baltimore) was recently asked to decide whether an environmental remediation contractor was a joint employer with its employee staffing firm, in the Green JobWorks LLC case. This is the first time that a Regional Director has looked at the joint employer issue since the Board’s controversial decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. (“Browning-Ferris”), and applying the new broader joint employer…

In today’s global economy, it is increasingly important for companies to strategically develop and maintain an international trademark portfolio.  Effective trademark portfolio management is a key factor in maintaining the rights and value of an company’s intellectual property.  An effective portfolio management strategy includes determining which marks are critical to the company’s business goals, and developing a strategy that dictates how, when, and where the company will acquire its trademark rights. The timing of obtaining…

When a trademark or service mark owner grants the right to use its mark to a third party, a license arrangement is typically created. The essential part of that arrangement is that the mark owner exercise quality control over the licensee’s use of the mark, so that the public can reasonably expect some consistent level of quality of the goods or services associated with the mark. Lack of quality control is known as a “naked…