Franchising & Distribution Law Blog

Several of the exemptions available under the FTC Franchise Rule are tied to dollar thresholds. For example, when the current FTC Franchise Rule was adopted in 2007, a franchise sale was exempt from the disclosure requirements of the rule if the payments from the franchisee to the franchisor in the first six months of the franchisee’s operations did not exceed $500. Wary of inflation, the FTC Franchise Rule requires the FTC to adjust the nominal fee exemption and others every four years. The first such adjustment occurred in 2012, and the fees are being adjusted again effective July 1, 2016. 

Think twice before requiring at-will, low-wage workers to sign noncompetes

On June 8, the Illinois attorney general filed a lawsuit in Cook County (Illinois) Circuit Court against two Jimmy John’s entities: franchisor Jimmy John’s Franchise LLC and an LLC owning eight Jimmy John’s sandwich shops, Jimmy John’s Enterprises LLC. The lawsuit alleges the sandwich chain engaged in unfair and deceptive acts or practices unlawful under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act. The lawsuit seeks to stop the allegedly unlawful use of noncompetition agreements on at-will, low-wage employees and to ensure that current and former employees are informed that the noncompetition agreements they signed are unenforceable. 

The International Franchise Association’s annual Legal Symposium took place May 15-17, 2016. Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale attorneys Dawn Johnson, Beata Krakus, Kim Myers, Abby Risner and Leonard Vines attended the program in Washington, D.C, where industry speakers presented programs on important topics in franchising.