As many of you will recall, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in late 2014 commenced its effort to have franchisors declared the “joint employers” of their franchisees’ employees. By doing so, the NLRB and its supporters hope to make large franchisors the economic “bargaining unit” with which unions may negotiate the salaries and benefits to be accorded to their franchisees’ employees.
This governmental attack on the franchise model began with the NLRB issuing complaints against McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) and certain McDonald’s franchisees which alleged that those franchisees engaged in improper discipline, coercive conduct and employee discharges in response to unionization activity—and that McDonald’s, as the putative “joint employer” of those franchisees’ employees, was jointly liable for such alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, 29 U.S.C.A. §§151-169 (2000).
