Franchising & Distribution Law Blog

One of the frequent services my colleagues and I provide to franchisors is franchise sales compliance training. It is often an eye-opening experience for new franchisors, and even experienced franchisors can find it to be a stark reminder of how heavily regulated the business of selling franchises is.

Franchisors beware: The Federal Trade Commission is making it very easy for franchisees to file fraud complaints against you. In publicizing its fraud reporting tool – aptly named ReportFraud.FTC.gov – the FTC has fired another warning shot that it is ramping up enforcement efforts against you.

The Federal Trade Commission has recently been sending “Notices of Penalty Offenses Concerning Money-Making Opportunities and Endorsements and Testimonials” to franchisors and companies selling other types of business opportunities. These notices from the federal consumer protection agency are seemingly coming from out of the blue and being served on registered agents similar to a lawsuit, causing recipients a fair amount of concern. Although the FTC tells the recipient that it is not being singled out (see this list of businesses who received the notice in October), it warns in bold letters on the first page that the recipient is now on notice that engaging in certain conduct could subject the company to civil penalties up to $43,792 per violation. A sample of the letters being sent to businesses can be viewed here.

Dawn Johnson, Beata Krakus, Susan Meyer, Abby Risner, and Leonard Vines recently attended two virtual franchise programs – the International Franchise Association Annual Convention and the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising. 

Although the full impact of COVID-19 remains unknown, many franchisors are looking to the future and new opportunities for franchise sales. Some franchises may be dramatically affected, either temporarily or permanently, and may have to significantly alter their business model to remain profitable. Others might actually benefit from the pandemic.

As required every four years, adjustments to the FTC Franchise Rule’s monetary thresholds for certain exemptions are on the way.

The exemptions under the FTC Franchise Rule are intended to exclude franchise transactions in which the prospective franchisee doesn’t need the protection the rule is intended to provide. As several exemptions available under the FTC Franchise Rule are tied to dollar thresholds, they need to be adjusted from time to time to remain relevant. For example, when the current rule was adopted in 2007, a franchise sale was exempt from the FTC Franchise Rule’s disclosure requirements if the payments from the franchisee to the franchisor in the first six months of the franchisee’s operations did not exceed $500. Adjustment of the dollar threshold is necessary for this exemption not to become irrelevant with inflation. 

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.