New York State, and particularly New York City, is becoming one of the most expensive places in the nation to operate a small business.  New legislation is affecting the bottom line of small businesses across the State including many franchisees trying to maximize the return on their business investment.  On April 4, 2016, New York

The subject of non-compete agreements, a hot-button issue in franchising, has come to a head in Massachusetts, where just yesterday, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve limits to non-compete agreements. The New York Times reported this is an emerging trend in a number of states in recent years. The Massachusetts bill imposes strict

A hot topic facing many state and local legislatures across the country is whether to implement a fifteen-dollar minimum wage. This year, the States of California and New York passed bills to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The State of Oregon has passed a bill raising the minimum wage to nearly

For gift-givers, the gift card is the perfect solution to the man-who-has-everything, the birthday-you-forgot-about and for walking the tightrope of generous-but-slightly-impersonal required for say, the office gift pool or a co-worker’s bridal shower. For franchise systems, the gift card is a great revenue-creating tool. It can help capitalize on the holiday-shopping crowds, can increase traffic

It is safe to say that nearly all franchise agreements contain a covenant against competition, or a non-compete clause.  These clauses generally limit the activities a franchisee can engage in while he/she is a franchisee, and following the end of the franchise relationship.  Courts (with the exception of California) generally enforce such restrictive covenants so

The issue of franchisor/franchisee joint employer status continues to evolve. On August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision, commonly referred to as Browning-Ferris, which altered the NLRB’s standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). Although this case does not involve a franchisor-franchisee relationship, this

The title of this blog post is of course a shameless play for search engine optimization. But it also serves to illustrate a point. At Einbinder & Dunn, we have become deeply immersed in the business of franchising and the franchising of businesses. The concept is familiar to many people but typically not fully understood.

Congratulations to Michael Einbinder and Julie Lusthaus, both recently named to the Franchise Times Magazine’s Legal Eagle Hall of Fame. The magazine designates a limited number of top franchise attorneys as Legal Eagles based on peer recommendations and contributions to the franchise industry, such as writing for legal publications and speaking at franchise events.