It will soon be that time of year when we will be working with our franchisor clients to prepare the required year-end updates to their Franchise Disclosure Document and file state registration renewal applications.
Happy Holidays from Carter & Tani!
During the holiday season, we pause to reflect on the past year and we are reminded of how fortunate we are on both a business and personal level. We are enriched in many ways by our relationship with our clients and business associates.
Illinois Businesses and Franchisors with Franchisees in Illinois - Beware of the Biometric Information Privacy Act
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act has been in effect since 2008. There has been little awareness of this law until this year. Between July 2017 and October 2017, there have been at least 26 class action suits filed in the Illinois state courts by employees against their employers alleging violations of the Act. Companies being sued have included Intercontinental Hotels, Mariano's, Zayo Group, Peacock Foods, Superior Air Ground Ambulance Service, Bob Evans Restaurants, Hyatt Corp. and Alliance Ground International.
Illinois Businesses - Be Aware of the New Illinois Freedom to Work Act
The Illinois Freedom to Work Act went into effect on January 1, 2017 (820 ILCS 90). The Act is said to have been passed in response to Jimmy John's requiring employees to sign non-compete agreements that restricted the employees from being employed at businesses located with 2 or 3 miles of Jimmy John's locations if the business obtained more than 10% of their revenue from the sale of menu items similar to the Jimmy John's menu items.
What are the Registration and Disclosure Requirements in Franchise Transfers?
Franchisors should not mistakenly assume that a sale of an existing franchise business by the franchise owner is not subject to the registration and disclosure requirements of the franchise laws. When a franchisee is selling its franchise business, is the franchisor obligated to provide the prospective buyer with its current Franchise Disclosure Document? If the franchise business is in a franchise registration state, does the franchisor have to be registered to offer and sell franchises in that state for the franchisee sale/transfer to take place?
FDA's Menu Labeling Rule Delayed
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Menu Labeling Rule, which was set to go into effect on May 5, 2017, has been delayed. The Menu Labeling Rule called for businesses in the food service industry (e.g. restaurants, grocery and convenience stores) with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts on their menu boards. This would apply to most food service franchise systems. The Rule is now set to go into effect on May 7, 2018.
FRANCHISORS: IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN - THE FDD UPDATE.
If your franchise company has a fiscal year end of December 31, early January is the time to begin the process of updating the Franchise Disclosure Document as required by the Federal Trade Commission's FTC Rule. The FTC Rule requires that all franchisors update their FDDs within 120 days of their fiscal year end. So what does that mean and what should franchisors be doing?
Franchise Basics Series: Franchise Relationships
Happy Holidays from Carter & Tani
As we come to the close of Carter & Tani's 25th anniversary year, we look back and are grateful for our clients and business associates who have enabled us to reach this milestone. We also look forward to the future, with the addition of our new associate, Alissa Carter Verson, who joined us this May after passing the Illinois bar exam, and as we examine ways to continue to improve our services to our valued clients.
Financial Performance Representations 2017
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS
