A national franchisor secured a total defense victory in a putative class and collective action in January 2017. Our firm represented the national franchisor in the litigation.
The case, venued in the Western District of Wisconsin, involved wage and hour claims premised on the theory that the franchisor was the joint employer of its franchisees’ employees. In a pre-certification decision, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of the franchisor on the joint employer issue—a decision that removed the franchisor from the case prior to any class certification ruling.
The case represented one of the first litigated to judgment on the joint employer theory in the wake of unfavorable joint employer decisions from federal agencies like the NLRB. Our firm served as lead trial counsel on the case.
