Are employees of a Bambu franchisee considered employees of Bambu?
Bambu Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisee shall be exclusively responsible for recruiting, appointing, hiring, firing, and supervising its employees, independent agents, and Bambū Certified Team Leaders.
Those employees and agents will be employees or agents of Franchisee.
They are not employees or agents of Bambu and Bambu is not the joint employer of those persons.
Franchisee will have sole authority and control over the day-to-day operations of the Bambū shoppe and its employees and agents.
Bambu will have no right or obligation to direct Franchisee's employees and agents or to operate the Bambū shoppe.
It is Franchisee's responsibility to determine compensation of employees and agents, terms of employment, safety regulations, work assignments, work schedules, and working conditions.
Any information regarding any of those issues provided to Franchisee by Bambu are mere suggestions and Franchisee shall have the sole discretion to utilize such information or not.
Franchisee will keep Bambu informed of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all employees and agents.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 52–209)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bambu's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee's employees and agents are exclusively the responsibility of the franchisee, and are not considered employees or agents of Bambu. The franchisee has sole authority and control over the day-to-day operations of their Bambu shop, including its employees and agents. Bambu has no right or obligation to direct the franchisee's employees and agents or to operate the Bambu shop.
The franchisee is responsible for determining the compensation, terms of employment, safety regulations, work assignments, work schedules, and working conditions of their employees and agents. Any information provided by Bambu regarding these issues are considered suggestions, and the franchisee has the discretion to utilize or disregard such information. The franchisee must keep Bambu informed of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all employees and agents.
Bambu is not responsible for supervising the activities of the franchisee's Bambu shop or ensuring that the shop is operated in compliance with applicable laws. The franchisee must conspicuously post a notice in the shop identifying the franchised location as being individually owned and operated by the franchisee. Each party is responsible for filing its own tax, regulatory, and payroll reports with respect to its respective employees and operations.
Franchisees are independent contractors and are in no way considered an agent, partner, or employee of Bambu. Franchisees have no authority to bind Bambu or incur any liability on behalf of Bambu. The Franchise Agreement states that all employees hired by or working for the Franchisee shall be the employees of the Franchisee and shall not, for any purpose, be deemed employees of Bambu.