{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Dear Frannie: Franchise Growth, Leadership and Scaling Advice","title":"Dear Frannie | Am I a Joint Employer of My Franchisee's Staff?","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1902,"description":"You want every location to feel the same. Your lawyer wants you to stay out of your franchisee's HR file. Where's the line?\nFranchise attorney Lee Plave of Plave Koch joins Katherine to break down the American Franchise Act (HR 5267) and the question underneath it: when does a franchisor cross from setting brand standards into being a joint employer of their franchisee's staff — and what happens when they do?\nLee came out of the Federal Trade Commission and has spent decades representing franchisors at every scale, from IHG, Hilton and 7-Eleven to brands that sold their first unit last month. In this conversation he lays out the rule that keeps franchisors on the right side of the line — standardize the output, not the input — and explains why the most cautious legal advice, \"don't train them, don't talk to them,\" is both self-defeating and, in some businesses, genuinely unsafe.\nIn this episode:\nWhat vicarious liability and joint employer status actually mean for a growing brand\nWhat the American Franchise Act is trying to codify, and why it exists now\nThe output-versus-input rule, and how to apply it to your own brand standards\nWhy cheap franchise documents are the most expensive purchase you'll make\nHow to spot an agreement that came off a document mill or out of an AI\nWhat to do instead of directing your franchisee's employees\nWhy one rogue franchisee damages the other ninety-nine, not just the brand\nKatherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano have spent a combined 40+ years in the trenches of franchising — across marketing, operations, legal, and franchise development — working with brands at every stage of growth. They've sat in the rooms where the hard calls get made, and they're not shy about sharing what they've seen work and what they've watched blow up.\nKatherine works with franchisors through Apollo CMO, stepping in as the strategic marketing resource brands need when growth gets ahead of the marketing function. If this one hit close to home, reach out.\nWant...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/_iR-69bgDAcjWbHcJBsks4UHMcbXoxMW9mgRiHmnhWk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81NGJj/ZjZmMTAxZDU1Yjky/MTQwM2VlMmI0ZjEw/ZTY1Mi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}