National Maintenance Contractors, LLC. v. Employment Department

We agreed to file a joint amicus with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association in support of a petition for review by the Oregon Supreme Court. This is a state law case where the Oregon Court of Appeals held that a franchisor is jointly liable under Oregon law with the franchisee in the employment context by virtue of its franchise relationship without the need to establish direction and control. The decision could place ultimate responsibility on a franchisor for all Oregon payroll taxes on wages that its franchisees pay to their employees—fundamentally changing the nature of the relationship between franchisors and franchisees in Oregon. Our brief explained to the justices the importance of the franchise model to restaurant and lodging businesses in the state and how the Court of Appeals’ decision would discourage franchisors from expanding in Oregon or continuing to do business in the state. Case is now closed.

Resolution

We filed our amicus brief on December 20, 2017, but the Oregon Supreme Court refused to hear the case