Legislative landscape: Challenges to franchising

In the past year, and particularly over the past two months, courts and state legislatures have weighed in on changes they would like to see in the way franchisors and franchisees run their businesses. In many cases, such as the July opinion of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel that McDonald’s Corp. could be considered a “joint employer” with its franchisees, the industry has voiced its opposition, saying that forthcoming regulations misunderstand the business model of franchising. Below is a map where pending legislation and court rulings, or continued demonstrations for higher wages aimed at franchised businesses, have popped up, requiring the franchise industry’s ongoing attention.