On September 10, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a Memorandum and Order granting summary judgment in favor of a franchisor in response to claims by a purported class of franchisees that they were not truly independent contractors, but employees of the franchisor.
Continue Reading Massachusetts District Court Rejects Employee Classification for Franchisees

Recently, two partners on Hunton & Williams’ Labor & Employment team discussed the possible effects of a recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals case that creates an altogether new and incredibly broad joint employment standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This blog post contains a link to the full article.
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Decision Creates Incredibly Broad Joint Employment Standard

A federal judge in Alabama ruled Tuesday that a grocer could not rely on its legacy business insurance policies – including an “electronic data” coverage extension – to protect against third-party claims after customer data was compromised by a point-of-sale cyber attack.
Continue Reading Gaps in Retailer’s Insurance Program Jeopardize Coverage for Cyber Breach

On June 3, 2016, Hunton & Williams LLP published a video discussing a 2015 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, which fundamentally alters the joint-employer standard. The ruling has already been making waves in the retail industry as the NLRB seeks to apply the new standards to hold certain franchisors liable for the employment violations of its franchisees.
Continue Reading Joint-Employer Liability and the Retail Industry