Last week, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the case New York v Scalia invalidated the Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently enacted  joint employer rule, more specifically known as the DOL’s Final Rule defining “joint employers” under the Fair Standards Labor Act (FSLA). In the franchising context, the

        COVID-19 impacted New York more than anywhere else in the world, spreading rapidly, especially through New York City, resulting in approximately 30,000 deaths statewide. Because of the overwhelming impact in the state, Governor Andrew Cuomo implemented some of the country’s strictest lockdown orders for his state’s economy (known as the PAUSE

Recently, we have received numerous inquiries from clients, including those in the retail and hospitality industries, concerned about the impact that Covid-19 will have on their businesses. Although the landscape appears to be ever-changing, we wanted to send this email to offer you general guidance and practical considerations as well as to highlight important legislature

       When a U.S. franchise system wants to expand internationally, the franchisor must perform the appropriate due diligence before selling units to franchisees in another country. Franchisors must assess and consider, among other things, foreign franchise rules, local law, cultural barriers and differences, and language barriers. Many franchisors will enter into a master

The proper preparation of a franchise disclosure document (“FDD”) can be complex and the rules governing such preparation are often evolving, so it is beneficial for franchisors to engage a franchise lawyer to handle the task. It is imperative that franchisors are aware that their FDDs must be drafted in accordance with the Federal Trade

          Franchise law often overlaps with real estate law for the simple reason that many franchised businesses need a commercial or retail space in which to operate. When a franchisee first begins the process to join a franchisor’s system, negotiating and finalizing the franchise agreement, along with the proper due diligence,

Multi-unit and area development agreements are two more aggressive ways to grow a franchise system. However, with these endeavors come higher stakes and less margin for error. Multi-unit franchisees operate several franchise units and of course, take on the risk of each individual unit. Area developers obtain the right to develop a particular area within

       Franchising is highly regulated to create a fair and open marketplace for potential franchisees looking to make an investment in a business. In addition to maintaining compliance with the franchise regulations in general, franchisors should be mindful of their website’s legal compliance with regard to the legal requirements that affect it, including

Restaurant Leases: Your lease should be an asset, not a liability When opening a restaurant, the restaurant owner’s top priority lease concerns typically are the financial and business aspects of the deal: rent, landlord’s work, tenant’s work, common area maintenance charges, utility charges etc. However, there are other aspects of a lease that could complicate

Negotiating Relocation Rights for Franchisees/Tenants A relocation provision, in its simplest description, is a contractual right in a commercial lease that permits the landlord to relocate a tenant to another space. Relocation provisions are frequently overlooked when a potential tenant is negotiating the business points of a lease. However, signing a lease with an overly