The Earned Sick Time Act (“ESTA”) was set to go into effect at midnight, February 21. In a last-minute legislative compromise, the House and Senate passed amendments to the ESTA with less than an hour to spare before the effective date. The amended ESTA keeps much of the originally enacted law intact: It still technically…
Breaking: Legislators Make 11th Hour Changes to Earned Sick Time Act
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Preparing Your Organization to Comply With the New Mandatory Paid Sick Time
A new mandatory paid sick time law will go into effect for all Michigan employers soon. After a lengthy legal battle, the Michigan Supreme Court held in July that the Earned Sick Time Act (“ESTA”) will take effect February 21, 2025, replacing the Paid Medical Leave Act. As enacted, ESTA was a broad, employee-friendly law…
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Attorney Mark J. Burzych Named to 2022 Franchise Times Legal Eagles
Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes is proud to announce that Mark J. Burzych, current president of the firm and head of its Franchise practice group, has been recently named to the 2022 class of ‘Legal Eagles’ by Franchise Times magazine. He has been recognized as a Franchise Times ‘Legal Eagle’ for the last four consecutive years,…
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The DOL Adds a New Tip Pool Option
Tip pooling is the practice of tipped employees to contributing their tips into one collective pool shared and divided evenly among that group. Previously, there were only two legally acceptable options for tip pools. On April 30, 2021, the DOL opened the door a bit wider for a new variation! Now that the DOL has…
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Check Yourself: The 80/20 Rule for Tipped Employees is Back
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule on October 28, 2021, that brings back the 80/20 rule that was used by the DOL until 2018 for confirming tipped employees’ eligibility for the tip credit. This rule measures the amount of side work a tipped employee could perform without impacting your ability to…
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Burzych Named Top-Tier Franchise Lawyer
Mark J. Burzych has been named one of the top franchise lawyers in the country by the franchise industry leading publication, Franchise Times. Franchise Times published its 2018 list of “Legal Eagles” in the field of franchise law which includes approximately the top 10% of all franchise lawyers in the country with top-level experience providing…
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A Franchisee employee’s posts are damaging our brand, but the employee is outstanding at the workplace. What should we do?
You are experiencing the “new frontier” of difficult business issues that society will have to deal with in the coming years. What used to be spoken to a few people is now posted and broadcasted to thousands or millions of people on social media. The advent of social media has significantly changed how people communicate….
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I run a pizza franchisor and recently found out that one of my franchisees is not using the system’s approved cheese. I have been trying to work this out with the franchisee for over 6 months but we cannot agree. What should I do?
This is a much broader question than pizza cheese. This is a question about the enforcement of brand standards, which is paramount to a franchise system. The beauty of a franchise system is that when customers see the franchise brand, they immediately know what to expect. When they see the “Golden Arches,” they expect hamburgers,…
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How much flexibility should I give franchisees in my franchise system to “do their own thing?”
That is such a great question! Franchising is a model of system growth that uses independent businesses and independent capital to grow. To the consuming public, a significant benefit of franchising is that consumers know exactly what to expect from that brand and, in most cases, the customers do not know the difference between the…
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Franchising’s Top 10 Questions: Is Your Restaurant Ready to Franchise?
If you run a successful restaurant, have a snappy logo, possess high brand recognition, serve great food, train your staff to provide exemplary service, and have a concept that is unique, you have undoubtedly had customers inquire about purchasing a franchise from you. Franchising is a way to use other people’s (your franchisees’) capital to expand…
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Vive La Difference? Selective Enforcement of Franchise Agreement Terms and System Standards
Franchisors typically employ standard contract terms and conditions to establish the nature of their relationships with franchisees. Although franchisors also draft complex operations manuals to ensure conformity in appearance and operation of franchised establishments, they do not always enforce the requirements of their franchise agreements and operations manual strictly and uniformly against all franchisees. When…
