Labor & Employment » Fifth Circuit Says Restaurant Cook Is Not Franchisor Employee

Fifth Circuit Says Restaurant Cook Is Not Franchisor Employee

July 22, 2014

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A restaurant cook plaintiff’s attempt to pull a franchisor into a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit as co-defendant succeeded with a district court, but it was then rebuffed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court invoked a four-part “economic reality test” – part one being whether the alleged employer has the power to hire and fire the employee – and it determined the franchisor in this case doesn’t qualify as an employer for FLSA purposes under any of them. A summary of the case from the Phelps Dunbar law firm notes that FLSA lawsuits, sometimes with a franchisor as a potential deep pocket, are proliferating, and that in this case (Orozco v. Plackis) the U.S. Department of Labor filed an amicus brief on the side of the employer.

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