Franchisor-Franchisee Independence and Joint Liability, Redux
As recently reported by BlueMauMau.org, the franchisor of the Tilted Kilt restaurant franchise system has recently been sued by several employees of its Chicago-based franchisee. The complaint arises out of alleged sexual harassment perpetrated by the franchisee himself.
Last year I wrote about franchisors being exposed to liability based on the conduct of their franchisees, but the issue is so important for all parties involved that several points bear repeating.
In the Tilted Kilt case, the franchisor allegedly published an “employee handbook” for franchisees to distribute to their staff, and exerted significant control over the operation of the franchised outlet in question. If true, these are two factors that typically weigh in favor of finding the franchisor to be a “joint employer” with its franchisee, thereby potentially subjecting it to liability for the alleged harassment.
Franchisors are supposed to provide support to their franchisees, and at its core, a franchise system is about building a cohesive, structured and predictable network of franchised outlets.
Even so, franchisors need to maintain an adequate degree of separation between themselves and their franchisees. Franchises are supposed to be “independently owned and operated,” and this is legally significant. Failure to maintain sufficient distinctions between the franchisor and the franchisee may result in the litigation situation presented in the Tilted Kilt case.
When preparing operations manuals, employment forms, and other documentation that you want your franchisees to use, do so in a way that requires franchisees to identify and maintain these distinctions. There are several effective ways to maintain uniformity and standards while also creating separation between franchisor and franchisee.
However, when a franchisor fails to impose adequate barriers between itself and the businesses carried on by its franchisees, customers, employees, and even the franchisees themselves may be able to make a colorable claim against the franchisor. If the franchisor doesn’t have documentation to back up its claim of independence (or worse, if there is documentation to the contrary), then it might just be faced with multi-party litigation.
How To Maximize Your Experience At This Fall's Online Franchise Expo
Once again, we sat down with Tom Portesy and Sheila Fischer from MFV, the parent company that puts on the event, to talk about how attendees can maximize their online experience.
Franchises and Business Opportunities – Understanding the Difference
For entrepreneurs seeking to hit the ground running with a new business venture, there are two main categories of opportunities out there that allow them to benefit from the experience, assets and reputation of existing business concepts. These are: (i) the franchise, and (ii) the “business opportunity”.
Franchise Hurdles
The first point I made ties into this, but you need to make sure you’ve done your research before you go ahead and sign a franchising agreement. And that doesn’t just mean from a financial perspective. There are so many other aspects in running a franchise that you need to understand before you get started. Most of this information can be found in the Franchise Disclosure Documents. Some of the most important things you should take a look at would be any legal issues the franchisor might have and the churn rate of franchises. Both of those could potentially be pretty significant red flags that might make you want to reconsider whether or not you want to open that franchise.
