EMPLOYMENT LAW

December 1, 2012 – Employment Law

Suit was filed against the Domino Pizza franchise y a teenage employee who claimed she was sexually assaulted an harassment by a manager assistant during employment. She named in the suit the franchisee owner and the assistant manager who assaulted her as well as the franchisor, Dominos.

Dominos the franchisor, argued that by the terms of the franchise agreement, the franchisee was an independent contractor responsible for hiring supervising and paying the persons who worked in the store and Dominos had no role in the franchisee’s employment decisions.

The Court held that the franchisor could be held liable dispute these defenses. The Court considered all the other controls that the franchisor held over the franchisee and concluded that the franchisee could be found not to be an independent contractor.

The Court further concluded that the agreement to arbitrate did not apply because it was not a separate document from the employment handbook which claimed there was no written agreements.