What was the date that Floors To Go entered into the Assurance of Discontinuance with the State of Washington?
Floors_To_Go Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In Re: Franchise Poaching Provisions Assurance of Discontinuance (Floors To Go, LLC), King County Superior Court, State of Washington Antitrust Division, Office of the Attorney General (No. 19-2-24814-9). The Attorney General asserted that FTG included language in its franchise agreements that restricted a franchisee's ability to solicit or hire workers from FTG or another franchisee (no-recruiting provision). On September 23, 2019, FTG voluntarily entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with the State of Washington agreeing that it (i) will no longer include no-recruiting provisions in any of its future membership agreements, (ii) no longer enforce no-recruiting provisions in any of its existing membership agreements, (iii) will not seek to intervene or defend in any way the legality of any no-recruiting provision, and (iv) will endeavor to amend all existing membership agreements with members in the State of Washington to remove any no-recruiting provisions in those members' existing membership agreements.
Source: Item 3 — LITIGATION (FDD page 10)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Floors To Go Franchise Disclosure Document, Floors To Go voluntarily entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with the State of Washington on September 23, 2019. This agreement came about because the Attorney General believed that Floors To Go's franchise agreements included language that restricted a franchisee's ability to solicit or hire workers from Floors To Go or another franchisee, which is referred to as a no-recruiting provision.
As part of the Assurance of Discontinuance, Floors To Go agreed to several conditions. First, they would no longer include no-recruiting provisions in any future membership agreements. Second, they would not enforce any existing no-recruiting provisions in their current membership agreements. Third, Floors To Go committed to not intervening or defending the legality of any no-recruiting provision. Finally, they agreed to make an effort to amend all existing membership agreements with members in the State of Washington to remove any no-recruiting provisions.
For a prospective franchisee, this means that Floors To Go has taken steps to ensure its franchise agreements comply with Washington state law regarding employee recruitment. It also indicates that Floors To Go is willing to work with state authorities to resolve legal concerns. Franchisees in Washington should be aware of these specific protections under the Assurance of Discontinuance, particularly the removal of no-recruiting provisions, which could impact their ability to hire employees from within the Floors To Go network.