Sexual Harassment at McDonald’s Is Even Worse Than We Knew. New polling suggests 75 percent of female employees have experienced sexual harassment on the job. In a new survey conducted in April of 782 female McDonald’s employees who were either currently employed in non-managerial positions or had been within the last year shared exclusively with The Nation

In cases where a customer is able to show that statements a salesman made are fraudulent, salespeople accused of fraud regularly invoke various legal rules and contract clauses to shield themselves from liability. Franchisors often use these rules and contract clauses to defend themselves when franchisees claim the franchisor misrepresented the terms of a deal. This is significant as cases containing franchise fraud claims are filed almost daily.

How Franchisors SHow bad can it get? Bad. Very bad. Even the most optimistic predictions suggest that economic growth will fall markedly through the next two quarters of this year and that recovery will depend on a drop in the mortality rate of the virus and a slowing of its rate of onward transmission. That will most probably be due to “seasonality”, that is a reduction in transmissions similar to that seen with influenza with the onset of summer.hould Deal with the Impact of COVID-19.

70-Unit Jack in the Box Franchisee Files Bankruptcy The chain and operator agreed to close seven or eight unprofitable stores. 70-Unit Jack in the Box Franchisee Files Bankruptcy The chain and operator agreed to close seven or eight unprofitable stores. Court documents said an increase in fast-food competition in 2018 contributed to the issues. A Jack in the Box franchisee operating roughly 70 stores in Missouri and Illinois filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, citing increased pressures with market share and labor availability. According to JIB’s FDD, the locations belong to Kelly Kuhlman, who’s been a JIB franchisee since July 2011. He runs the restaurants through limited liability companies Missouri Jack and Illinois Jack, which each submitted a filing. About 80 percent of the units are in Missouri, and the remaining 20 percent are housed in Illinois. The stores employ more than 1,650 people

President Joe Biden opens up PPP loan period just for businesses with fewer than 20 employees. President Joe Biden announced Monday adjustments to the Paycheck Protection Program designed to aid smaller businesses in applying for loans. Starting Wednesday, at 9 a.m. EST for a 14-day period, only businesses with fewer than 20 employees (comprising 98% of small businesses) will be able to apply for PPP loans, giving lenders a chance to focus on the smallest Main Street businesses.

4 Top Marketing Benefits of Converting to a National Franchisor. For an in-home care provider, the benefits of joining a national franchisor are vast, particularly in the age of COVID-19. Among the infrastructure advantages are marketing benefits, as a national franchisor is in an ‘always-on’ position building the brand while a local home care agency focuses on delivering care and eliminates the work that a startup must take to build a brand and name recognition in their marketplace

FRANCHISE FRAUD AND MISREPRESENTATION Franchise and distribution litigation almost always involves claims of fraud. In the franchise and distribution context, sales fraud is most often based upon a sales representative’s false representations made to intentionally induce people to buy expensive franchises and dealerships. Examples of supplier and franchise fraud include a franchisor or suppliers’ false claims as to the following: the prior franchisees or dealers’ profits; the uniqueness or value of the franchisor or supplier’s products or services; the prior successes or failures of franchisees in particular areas; and, the amount of ongoing regular investment that the franchisor or supplier has made in the franchise or distribution system.

Retail giants like Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger are firing shots over rivals' minimum wages. Here's who actually pays $15 an hour. Companies including Kroger and Amazon are taking shots at rivals like Walmart over employee pay. Walmart said this week that it will raise many workers' wages, but does not pay a $15 minimum wage. Amazon, Costco, and Target all pay workers at least $15 per hour. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

7-Eleven Franchisees Ask for Ninth Circuit’s Ruling on Employee Misclassification Suit. The franchise owners filed a class action against 7-Eleven, claiming they are actually employeeThis litigation remains ongoing but represents a preliminary victory for 7-Eleven to the extent plaintiffs’ efforts to certify a class have been unsuccessful.s of the franchisor and not independent contractors.

FTC WARNS CONSUMERS ABOUT BOGUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. The Federal Trade Commission recently reached a settlement with two men who allegedly collected millions of dollars through “work-at-home” scams. According to court documents, Gregory Anderson and Garrett Robins, through five companies they controlled, “marketed and sold a purported moneymaking opportunity to consumers nationwide

Skincare company Heyday raises $20M, plans 'hundreds' of franchised stores. The company is bringing on a former Rent the Runway exec to lead the expansion as it vows to invest in a more personalized online experience. Along with securing $20 million in Series B funding, Heyday on Tuesday also announced plans to scale to "hundreds of stores" in the next five years via franchising, according to a company press release. Heyday, which describes itself as "taking the facial out of the spa and into people's lives," emphasizes a personalized approach to skincare, including putting estheticians front and center to provide skincare and product recommendation

Orkin Pest Control manager admits he's racist to biracial employee, company sued. A spokesperson for Orkin informed WFAA that the manager has since been fired. GARLAND, Texas — Orkin Pest Control is now the target of a new civil rights lawsuit after a former Garland manager admitted on-camera to a biracial employee that he was racist, court documents allege. The employee, identified in the suit as Greg Griffin, claims he was terminated by the company when he brought the video to Orkin's attention.

More Than 90 Percent of NYC Restaurants Could Not Pay Full Rent in December: Survey. A new survey shows the city’s restaurants can’t pay rent while subsisting on takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining —A new survey of more than 400 businesses from the New York City Hospitality Alliance shows that a staggering 92 percent of restaurants could not pay full rent in December.

My Franchisor Misrepresented Profit. What Can I Do About My Franchisor’s Misrepresentations? Misrepresentation is a legal principle in contract law. You may be able to make a claim of misrepresentation and claim compensation to recover your loss if you can establish that:the franchisor lied about something before you signed the contract; the lie was intended to get you to buy the franchise business;what the franchisor lied about was important to you; and you signed the agreement because of the lie.

UNITED FRANCHISE GROUP (UFG) Franchise Complaints. UFG Franchisees Suffer From High Turnover Rates Recent Franchise Disclosure Documents of nearly every United Franchise Group franchise brand reveal high percentages of franchise ownership turnover. Signarama: A few years back, we reported that the SBA reported disturbingly high default rate of 40% for Signarama franchise loans. A recent FDD showed that over a 3-year period nearly 1/3 of Signarama franchise agreements had ended in closure, termination, or transfer to other owners. See SIGNARAMA Franchise Complaints EmbroidMe / Fully Promoted: EmbroidMe customized products also had one of the highest SBA default rates when we reported on it a few years ago. Last year, UFG changed the name to “Fully Promoted.” A recent FDD showed that in a three year period, 40% of EmbroidMe/Fully Promoted franchise agreements ended in closure, termination or transfer to other owners. See related posts:

Bankrupt By Chloe Selects Stalking Horse Bidder Questions remain around BC Hospitality Group’s ownership of the concept. The other firms are Kitchen Fund, Lion Capital, and Bain Capital Double Impact Fund. Under the agreement, the group would acquire 100 percent equity in By Chloe in exchange for a $3.25 million credit bid, which is equal to the group’s DIP funding. The firms would also assume up to $150,000 in ongoing claims from creditors.

Franchise Fraud: Wake Up and Smell the Fine Print. On a chilly spring day last year, Deborah Williams and Richard Welshans sat at their dining room table in Annapolis, Maryland. The waterfront abodes of Baltimore’s ex-mayor and other affluent residents, visible from their window, seemed to drive home just how far the couple had fallen. It was pouring outside, and the roof leaked like a sieve. Even if they could afford to fix it, why bother? It was the bank’s roof now. Their belongings were packed, stacked, and ready to move when the bank finally sold the house. They lacked health insurance and were drowning in debt, having filed for bankruptcy that May.

Franchisors Liable for Criminal Acts at Franchised Stores. In a pair of recent decisions, California courts ruled that franchisors may be vicariously liable for criminal acts occurring at their franchisees’ stores. In the first case, a California appellate court found that Domino’s Pizza could be vicariously liable for sexual harassment and assault inflicted on one of its franchisee’s employees by another employee.

Cheesy Street Grill satisfies comfort-food cravings. THE LOCALE The third Cheesy Street Grill location (and its first franchise) opened in Wellesley in mid-September in the new sports complex on Route 9 east near the Natick line.

Stage Is Set For Another Record-Breaking Year Of Retail Bankruptcies: Who’s Next? By any measure, 2020 was a brutal year in business, ending up with a record number of more than 160 consumer-facing businesses filing for bankruptcy, including the 35 retailers below, and 12,200 store closings.

Long John Silver’s Steadies the Ship Amid Choppy Waters The chain is seeing positive sales after shedding 300 stores in five years. Long John Silver’s went from 1,000 stores in 2015 to around 740 in 2019, including 540 franchises and 200 company-run stores. In January, the chain saw positive same-store sales stacked on top of growth from the previous year. Then COVID arrived a couple of months later, and the 52-year-old brand was forced to adapt.

The Great Global Reset is Happening for Restaurants. Segments are shifting with the consumer.LIMITED-SERVICE RESTAURANTS WERE A FORCE OF THE INDUSTRY WELL BEFORE COVID-19 HIT. There are 22 million restaurants globally representing $3.3 trillion in sales (as of 2019 and considering only commercial consumer foodservice, which excludes things like contract foodservice and non-commercial organizations). About half of these sales are tied to limited-service restaurants.

Retail giants like Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger are firing shots over rivals' minimum wages. Here's who actually pays $15 an hour. Companies including Kroger and Amazon are taking shots at rivals like Walmart over employee pay. Walmart said this week that it will raise many workers' wages, but does not pay a $15 minimum wage. Amazon, Costco, and Target all pay workers at least $15 per hour.

Northern Management Group Acquires 14 Dunkin’ Stores in Boston for $44 Million. Northern Management Group bought 14 Dunkin’ stores in MetroWest Boston from JCM Franchise Development, marking the first time in decades a franchise group new to the Dunkin’ system has purchased a network this size in Massachusetts. The aggregate transaction value of the deal is worth $44 million.

Could DoorDash’s Latest Acquisition Herald The Automated Future Of Food Prep? SHARE TWEET SHARE SHARE EMAIL On Monday (Feb. 8), DoorDash announced its acquisition of automated food preparation company Chowbotics, creator of the salad- and food-bowl-making robot, Sally. In a company statement, DoorDash explained that it plans to offer this technology to its merchants. The acquisition marks another step in the mainstreaming of food prep automation, using robots to carry out routine kitchen tasks that traditionally were fulfilled by humans.

Franchise Owner Detects Theft. Where is my cheese? A multi-unit franchise owner detects a $5,000 theft just days after implementing a cloud-accounting solution through WVC RubixCloud. A multi-unit franchise owner of a well-known pizza company sought to grow his business but his current accounting provider left him plagued with untimely financial reporting and unnecessary hours spent documenting. Specifically, he spent over 5 hours per week loading documents into Dropbox only to receive his financial statements a month after period-end, oftentimes with errors.

A Rise in Violence Against Asian Americans Prompts NYC Restaurateurs to Take Action. Owners of top NYC restaurants including 886, Kopitiam, and Fish Cheeks are donating meals to shelters and raising awareness in the process. The effort, called #EnoughIsEnough, was spearheaded by Eric Sze, chef and owner of East Village Taiwanese restaurant 886, who says he was prompted to take action after seeing videos of attacks on older Asian Americans in the Bay Area

STEAK ‘N SHAKE AVOIDS BANKRUPTCY AND SUES ITS LENDER. The burger chain, which was considering bankruptcy, has paid off its loan and then sued Fortress Investment Group for allegedly trying to take the company over. It then turned around and sued its lender—accusing Fortress Investment Group of maneuvering to take over the company by purchasing the chain’s loans on the secondary market and then threatening to force the chain into bankruptcy.

Maid Green Selects BrandWide to Improve Operations PR Web Soffront announcement: Maid Green Selects Popular Franchise Management Platform to Standardize and Improve Franchise Operations. LAS VEGAS ...Maid Green Made Clean franchise is an environmentally-friendly professional cleaning service established in 2006.

WITH PLUMMETING SALES, FRANCHISEES FACE A BRUTAL FUTURE. The coronavirus shock is putting considerable pressure on franchisees large and small, and franchisors are already taking steps to ease the problem. As restaurants close their doors and workers place chairs on tables, close up drink stations and put signs on doors, many of the people hoping for customers to come in for some takeout are franchisees.