In Canada, the discussion of the separation of a franchisor from
its franchisees' local employment decisions has surfaced
in a number of recent cases. Among these, some cases have
questioned which of the two entities should share legal liability
with regard to any human rights complaints, wrongful dismissals,
union claims and/or relevant employment standards issues.
Nevertheless, even when franchisees make employment decisions
the franchisor does not agree with, the franchisor will generally
not step in to reverse these decisions, for fear that any such
actions, whether direct or indirect, could have the unintended
consequence of creating a joint employer relationship.
The traditional model
