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In Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., a decade-old proposed class action against a franchisor, the Ninth Circuit ruled on May 2, 2019, that the recent California Supreme Court case Dynamex Ops. W. Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, 416 P.3d 1 (Cal. 2018) applies retroactively.
Vazquez is a warning for franchises

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins
The U.S. Department of Labor unveiled its alliance with a sandwich franchisor to help improve the franchisee owners’ compliance with wage-and-hour laws. Under this agreement, the franchisor agreed to share data and swap ideas about promoting compliance with labor laws and co-developing training materials for distribution to franchisee owners. The agreement

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins
“Native advertising” is an advertisement that may blur the distinction between advertising and editorial, video or other content. For example, an advertisement may be integrated into a newspaper website, with a “headline” and then a few lines of text which looks like a regular story rather than looking like an advertisement.

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins
The U.S. Department of Labor’s new regulations are effective on Dec. 1, 2016. The new regulations impact exempt employees, federal overtime pay and minimum wage requirements.
Significantly, nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions and incentive payments may be used to satisfy up to 10 percent of the minimum standard salary requirement if these payments

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins
Eight states passed legislation prohibiting a franchisor from being considered an employer or co-employer of franchisee employees, including: Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Utah and Georgia. Similar legislative efforts were introduced in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.
On May 3, 2016, Georgia is the most recent state

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins
The goal of an e-commerce contract is whether the “reasonable” consumer is aware of the e-commerce contract terms. A browsewrap agreement uses hyperlinks to the contract terms and conditions. A clickwrap agreement requires users to scroll through the terms before they are required to agree to them. The California state appeals court recently held that

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins
Design business practices by incorporating the lessons offered by other parties’ lawsuits. The lessons from a recent franchise/commodity distribution federal court case are that:

  • Watch forecasting statements: A franchisor which changes its policy—here, the rent policy changed—should avoid making representations regarding the future of the franchise (such as, we will not