I. Introduction 2 II. Joint Employer Status: NLRB’s New Standard 8 A. NLRB: Direct Control 9 B. NLRB: Indirect Control 9 III. Joint Employer Status: Common Law Standard 11 A. Common Law: Direct Control 11 B. Common Law: Indirect Control in the Second Circuit 12 IV. The Franchisor’s Dilemma: The Necessity of Indirect Control 13 V. Practices to Avoid 17 VI. Proceed with Caution: Questionable Practices 19 A. Day-to-Day Operational Controls 19 B. Be Careful of Tying Agreements 22 X. Trademark and Trade Dress Protection 25 A. Trademarks Protection 25 B. Trade Dress Protections 30 C. Protections in Practice: Trademark Quality Assurance Programs 31 XI. Conclusion 36 I. INTRODUCTION There’s panic in the streets. Sheer panic. A recent …show more content…
And franchisors, by design, exert indirect control over their franchisees and franchisee’s employees by way of licensing out the operation of their brand. In traditional franchise agreements, the franchisee is an independent business owner with a license to use the franchisor’s trademarks and other intellectual property as part of a royalty or fee arrangement. The ruling, which states that “setting productivity standards” is a form of indirect control, understandably has franchisors and franchise attorneys seeking shelter. Generally speaking, the NLRB’s role is to investigate any unfair labor practices that may be in violation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA). NLRB decisions do not necessarily set precedent in the common law courts, however the rulings can be persuasive. If the common law were to pick up the new joint-employer standard and apply it to the franchise relationship, it would create a union bargaining power for franchisee employees to negotiate with corporate headquarters—access that has never before been allowed under national labor laws. Not only would there be new bargaining power, but franchisors may then be responsible for paying overtime, medical insurance, and reimbursing the business expenses of franchisee’s employees. Franchisors simply
A franchise is a legal agreement between franchisers and franchisees that consents use of the franchise’s trademark and trade name or marketing plan
We hold that a franchisor may be subject to vicarious liability for the tortuous conduct of its franchisee only if the franchisor had control or a right of control over the daily operation of the specific aspect of the franchisee’s business that is alleged to *135 have caused the harm. Because Arby’s did not have control or a right of control over DRI’s supervision of its employees, there was no master/servant relationship between Arby’s and DRI for purposes of the plaintiffs’ respondeat superior claim against Arby’s. Arby’s cannot be held vicariously liable for DRI’s negligent supervision of Pierce.
“Becoming a franchisee is an odd combination of starting your own business and going to work for someone else” (Schlosser 94).In Eric Schlosser’s Non-fiction book, Fast Food Nation, Schlosser reasons that fast food has widened the gap between the rich and the poor, started an obesity epidemic and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. While the idea of a franchiser/ franchisee relationship appears to be nothing but beneficial, it has a serious drawback, which is the release/ acceptance of certain issues out of each party’s control. This, in turn causes other companies to try to develop new ways of forming this relationship. Subway, for example uses “Development Agents” to help ease tensions.
1. Franchisees gain numerous advantage when they purchase a franchise. First, while a franchisee may be opening a new store, it is part of an already established business and system. This means a franchisee has access to turnkey operations, allowing an increased speed to establishing and growing the business. Franchisees also get support for management and training activities, as well as financial assistance. Going hand in hand with this, a franchise already has an established brand name, quality of goods and service which have been standardized across the franchisor’s larger company, and national advertising programs from franchisors. Franchises also have large-volume, centralized buying power. A franchise has proven products, and
Of the many laws and regulations that affect labor relations in the United States, few have had a greater impact than the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This law, passed in 1935, was designed to protect the rights of both employers and employees, while also discouraging certain workplace practices. But what did this law actually do, and how does it affect your company today? Our workforce specialists at Industrial Relations Consultants have your answers.
Under the nation labor law enforcement board President Trump plans to shift the balance of power.“The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has long been criticized for failing to consider empirical evidence when making decisions with broad policy implications” (Labor and Employment Law, 2017, p.1281). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is responsible for enforcing the bargaining rights as well as fair labor practices which cater more to the unions under the Obama administration. Now that Trump have the opportunity to shift the balance of power with more Republican on the board which could then overturn some of the controversial rulings. However, under the Obama administration, the National Labor Relations Board have been
Next, it is important to understand what the NLRB does and does not have jurisdiction over. The NLRB does not have jurisdiction over 6 types of labors: (1) governmental employees, (2) persons covered by the Railway Act, (3) independent contractors, (4) agricultural laborers, (5) household/domestic workers, and (6) employees who work for their spouse or parents (Reed, 631). Technically the NLRB has jurisdiction over everything else; however, the NLRB has a limited budget as well as time constraints and so must limit
The National Labor Relations Board consists of five members, who serve staggered terms and who are appointed by the president of the United States.
During President Obamas time, the NLRB had a pro-union stance and is now going to change during president Trump’s term. Peter B. Robb will replace Richard Griffin who was a union attorney during Obamas time in the office. There has not been a Republican to serve as NLRB General Counsel since 2010. This could have major impact on labor laws and can affect business operations. One of the Board’s most provocative decisions was the Browning-Ferris decision in 2015, which decreased for finding joint employment in a relationship. The new standard incorporates that a business can be a joint employer, even though this involves only minimal or indirect control. Therefore, many companies have been very cautious of how they manage with third parties such as staffing agencies, franchisers and vendors.
The National Labor Relations Board is put in place to implement and managing the National Labor Relations Act (Pozgar, 2015). This purpose of the act is to direct the labor-management affairs of business firms that employ in interstate trade (Pozgar, 2015). So for example, in the introduction of chapter 20 we read that supervisors are harassing employees regarding in participating and voting in union meetings (Pozgar, 2015). As health care administrators and human resources directors, we must adhere to the laws that govern businesses (Pozgar, 2015). If I were the health care administrator or HR manager, I would have had put a stop to the harassing, if not prevented it, of the medical staff,
Schlosser recognizes that chains and franchises have become more and more prominent in today’s society: "Almost every facet of American life has now been franchised or chained," (Schlosser 13). The increasing number of franchises and chains helps the large corporations behind them to grow themselves and eventually, create more franchises. As consumers, we need to support our local, independent businesses to conserve regional differences and cultures. By obliterating independent businesses,
When evaluating this case, we must first look at the relevant facts and issues involved. Ramada Inns, Inc. is the franchisor that allows Gadsden Motel company, the franchisee to use its trademarks and service marks. It is also important to note that Gadsden Motel company is a partnership. The case states that the motel owned by Gadsden Motel company started to receive “poor ratings from Ramada Inns inspectors”. They also failed to pay their monthly franchise fee. Even after they were repeatedly warned by Ramada Inns, Gadsden did not show any significant improvements. When Ramada Inns opted to terminate the franchise agreement, Gadsden failed to remove signage, trademarks, and service marks that represented Ramada. This occurred even
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) started in July 1935 to protect the rights of employees, rather, they be union or nor-union employees (Pozgar, 2012). The employees are protected under the Act or may employ in bubble-like, rigorous goings-on in situations other than the customary union organizations and cooperative bargaining. The National Labor Relations Board regulates the employers from interfering with the rights of the employees to implement or organize and join with a groups that offers assists with collective bargaining purposes like organization union or joining one (Pozgar, 2012). The employer may not restrain, coerce or stop employees
Franchisors are increasingly having to be more and more selective in the adoption of franchisees with factors such as economic climate and the potential difficulty with growth playing key factors in the decision making process. It is not simply an ability to grow which creates a successful Franchise and nor is it the desire of any franchisor to adopt every potential franchisee. Franchisors are becoming more and more scrutinising as the global economy declines. There is a general understanding within any franchised
McDonald’s has extremely strict rules when it comes to awarding franchises. First, it is very costly to open a new location or purchase an existing location, with the median startup cost being $300,000 (Kalnins & Lafontaine, 2004, p. 750). As well, the company does an extensive background check on a variety of issues including credit history, business management experience, and the acceptance of the contractual agreement that the company provides. Because of these strict rules and the large amount of capital needed to purchase a location, “rates for franchise applicants are 1% for McDonald's” (Norton, 1988, p. 204). This is an extremely low acceptance rate and is even lower than McDonald’s chief competitor, Burger King, who accepts 1.5% percent of applicants (Norton, 1988, p. 199). These low numbers are understandable in the context of the business and risk that is involved. Though the franchise purchaser must pay a large amount of money to gain the rights to the restaurant, they truly have nothing to lose besides money because they are simply running another company’s business model as well as using their trademarks and logos. McDonald’s on the other hand, has a great amount at stake because they place the well being of an entire restaurant into the caretaking of an individual who simply purchased the rights for the store. If the store does poorly or if there are issues with customer service, it reflects