IFA Calls for Additional Transparency Following Release of NLRB Joint Employer Advice Memorandum in Freshii Case

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

mhaller@franchise.org

jweisbord@franchise.org

@franchising411


IFA CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY FOLLOWING RELEASE OF NLRB JOINT EMPLOYER ADVICE MEMORANDUM IN FRESHII CASE


WASHINGTON, May 13, 2015—International Franchise Association President & CEO Steve Caldeira, CFE, released the following statement on the release of an advice memorandum issued April 28 in the case of Nutritionality, Inc. d/b/a Freshii (Div. of Advice, No. 13-CA-134294). In this memo, the Associate General Counsel (AGC) confirms that the traditional “joint employment” test that deals with direct control or employee relations issues will be the key in determining joint employment status between franchisors and franchisees. The memo makes clear given the facts of the case before it that General Counsel Richard Griffin’s position in his Browning Ferris, if adopted by the Board, would NOT create a joint employment relationship in this instance.


“Today’s announcement clearly demonstrates and validates that more clarity and transparency is necessary by the NLRB to fully explain its rationale as to where the line is being drawn in its attempt to expand joint employer liability at the request of labor unions in the Browning Ferris Industries case.


“The AGC’s Advice Memorandum is welcome news for franchises and is a result of immense scrutiny being placed on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel to disclose his expanded joint employer theory by IFA, dozens of associations in the Coalition to Save Local Businesses (CSLB), and countless members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle.


“However, the legal battle is not over because an advice memo does not have the effect of creating law, the NLRB might still change its position and adopt a new test when a case comes before it, and other federal agencies like the Department of Labor (DOL), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) do take a more expansive view of who the employer actually is when it comes to franchising.


“Indeed, DOL’s Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil has clearly taken that position in his writings and state attorney generals are claiming joint employment relationships and the plaintiff bar persists in doing so.


“IFA will continue to fight back against the NLRB’s blatant and politically-motivated overreach to aggressively preserve America’s 780,000 franchise businesses and their 8.9 million workers.”


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About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating 55 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 780,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.9 million direct jobs, $890 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.


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