Are Chocolate Fish Franchising and the franchisee joint employers?
Chocolate_Fish_Coffee Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
omply with any dress attire, uniform, personal appearance and hygiene standards set forth in the Manual.
- (d) Qualifications. Chocolate Fish Franchising may set minimum qualifications for categories of employees employed by Franchisee.
- (e) Sole Responsibility. Franchisee is solely responsible for the terms and conditions of employment of all of its personnel, including recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, compensation, and termination. Franchisee is solely responsible for all actions of its personnel. Franchisee and Chocolate Fish Franchising are not joint employers, and no employee of Franchisee will be an agent or employee of Chocolate Fish Franchising. Within seven days of Chocolate Fish Franchising's request, Franchisee and each of its employees will sign an acknowledgment form stating that Franchisee alone (and not Chocolate Fish Franchising) is the employee's sole employer. Franchisee will use its legal name on all documents with its employees and independent contractors, including, but not limited to, employment applications, time cards, pay checks, and employment and independent contractor agreements, and Franchisee will not use the Marks on any of these documents.
- 7.6 Post-Opening Training. Chocolate Fish Franchising may at any time require that the Principal Executive and/or any other employees complete training programs, in any format and in any location determined by Chocolate Fish Franchising. Chocolate Fish Franchising may charge a reasonable fee for any training programs. Chocolate Fish Franchising may require Franchisee to provide training programs to its employees.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 41–119)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Chocolate Fish Coffee's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is solely responsible for all employment-related matters within their franchise. This includes recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, compensating, and terminating employees. The franchisee is also responsible for all actions of their personnel. Chocolate Fish Franchising and the franchisee are explicitly stated to not be joint employers.
To ensure clarity, Chocolate Fish Coffee requires the franchisee and each of their employees to sign an acknowledgment form confirming that the franchisee alone is the employer, not Chocolate Fish Franchising. The franchisee must also use their legal name on all employment-related documents, such as applications, time cards, and paychecks, and is prohibited from using Chocolate Fish Coffee's trademarks on these documents.
This arrangement is typical in franchising, where franchisees operate as independent business owners. While Chocolate Fish Coffee provides guidelines and training programs, the day-to-day management and employment decisions rest solely with the franchisee. This division of responsibility helps to protect Chocolate Fish Coffee from potential liabilities related to the franchisee's employees and ensures that the franchisee has the autonomy to manage their business effectively.
Furthermore, the franchise agreement specifies that the parties are independent contractors, and neither party is the agent, partner, joint venturer, or employee of the other. Chocolate Fish Franchising does not control or have the right to control the franchisee or its business. Any required specifications and standards in the agreement and in the System Standards exist to protect Chocolate Fish Coffee's interest in the System and the Marks, and the goodwill established in them, and not for the purpose of establishing any control, or duty to take control, over the Business.