In a case not mentioned in the major print or broadcast media in the golden state the California Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote, has ruled that an employee of a Domino’s Pizza franchisee is not a joint or co-employee of the parent company and franchisor, Domino’s Pizza. The case is Patterson v Domino’s Pizza.
This decision by the California Supreme Court (CSC) is timely as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is reviewing the same issue relating to a claim by employees of a McDonald’s franchisee. The General Counsel of the NLRB has ruled that the plaintiffs are “joint employees” of both the franchisee and McDonald’s Corporation.
It is my understanding that the full NLRB has yet to rule on the General Counsel’s opinion, but It is very likely that the Democratic majority on the NLRB will agree. If the NLRB does agree, McDonald’s will appeal in federal court.
The Domino’s case involved a young woman who worked at a Domino’s franchise location in Southern California, who sued the franchisee for sexual harassment and included the franchisor in the lawsuit as a defendant. Domino’s litigated the specific legal issue of the right of any plaintiff to claim that employees of a franchisee are also employees of Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s won at summary judgement at the trial court based on California’s current franchise and basic contract law. The franchise agreement between Domino’s, and its franchisees, is explicit that franchisee employees are not employees of Domino’s. However, the California Second District Court of Appeal overturned the trial court decision and Domino’s appealed to the CSC. The decision by the CSC is on the issue of whether, by law, the case could go to the trial court to determine if Domino’s met the test to be considered a co-employer of the plaintiff. Below is a link to the Court’s website that has a link to both the actual opinions, as well as the briefs filed in this case.
http://appellatecases.courtinf…
The case was covered by an online business journal and their summary is here:
http://www.therecorder.com/hom…
The CSC decision will have no direct impact on the NLRB, and its decision process, and no formal impact on the likely federal litigation. However, the information in the opinions and briefs in the Domino’s case will be well used in the federal McDonald’s litigation, by both sides. The McDonald’s case is likely to end up at the SCOTUS, if McDonald’s were to lose at a lower court.
The management and business friendly Forbes also covered the case, and the opinions, with a jab at the Obama administration thrown in for good measure. Their article is here: