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Lawsuits against cleaning franchise companies
We have brought cases against Coverall, JaniKing, Jan-Pro, CleanNet, Systems 4, and All-Pro for deceptive business practices and misclassification of cleaning workers as independent contractors. The federal court has ruled that Coverall has misclassified its franchisees as independent contractors under Massachusetts law. In August 2011, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a landmark ruling that Coverall franchisees may recover as damages the fees they paid for their franchises, as well as fees paid for additional business, on account of their misclassification. The Court also ruled that Coverall violated Massachusetts wage laws by charging franchisees for insurance and withholding pay when customers do not pay their bills. We are working now to recover these franchise fees and other withholdings for all Coverall franchisees. If you have worked as a Coverall franchisee in Massachusetts at any time since 2004, please call us for more information, at (617) 994-5800. You can also e-mail us at ssimpson@llrlaw.com. In our case against Jan-Pro, a state court judge in Georgia also ruled that a Jan-Pro franchisee was an employee under Massachusetts law. Although Jan-Pro convinced a Georgia appeals court that its multi-tier master franchise structure prevents it from being sued for misclassification, this issue has been certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by the federal court in Massachusetts. In our case against Jani-King, we have obtained class certification on our claim that franchisees who have worked in Massachusetts were misclassified as independent contractors. As in the Coverall and Jan-Pro cases, we have alleged that Jani-King franchisees are actually employees, who should not have been required to pay to obtain their work and have been subject to excessive fees and improper deductions from their pay. The CleanNet, Systems 4, and All-Pro cases are at an earlier stage in the proceedings, and we expect the rulings from these other cases to have a significant impact on these cases. If you have bought a cleaning franchise from one of these or other cleaning franchise companies, we would like to talk to you. Please contact us right away for more information on these cases. You can reach us at (617) 994-5800 or e-mail ssimpson@llrlaw.com. Shannon Liss-Riordan - Legal person of the year, 2011 Coverall decision could impact more than cleaning franchises Cleaning company took franchise fees illegally, SJC rules Franchisor hit hard for pretending employees are franchisees SJC put workers compensation onus on employers Court asked to define damages in labor cases Franchisee v. Franchiser Cleaning company hit by lawsuit What's next: The plaintiff's perspective - Employment Reclassification Case Targets Labor Abuses by 'Franchisers' Shannon Liss-Riordan discusses Awuah and other issues When franchisees are ruled employees, all bets are off Franchisees miscast as independent contractors Federal Judge: Franchising sounds like ponzi schme Cleaning workers were employees, not independent contractors Taking off the Gloves - Commercial cleaning franchisees sue National Lawsuit Against Coverall North America, Inc. Another Mass franchisee sues cleaning firm Immigrants cry foul over cleaning franchises
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