Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International: 2021 Sees Several Key Cases Heading to the California Supreme Court

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While activity in the California courts was slow in 2020, there are several potentially significant cases on the horizon for 2021. The California Supreme Court has several pending cases that could make waves throughout the state of California, including NVazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International. 

Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International: Scheduled to Appear before California Supreme Court in 2021

Case Info: Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. (No. 17-16096 (9th Cir. 2019)). 

According to lawsuit documents, the Defendant in the case, Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. or Jan-Pro, licenses a system for marketing cleaning services to “regional master franchisees.” The corporation operates in multiple countries, including the USA. Regional master franchisees purchase a franchise that comes with exclusive operating rights in the designated “region.” Jan-Pro regional master franchisees are franchisors to “unit franchisees.” Jan-Pro has no contract in place with unit franchisees. Jan-Pro’s contracts are with master franchisors. Contracts with unit franchisees are between the unit franchisee and the master franchisor. Unit franchisees hire their own employees, and act according to their own devices. The Plaintiffs in this case, Vazquez, are former unit franchisees. Vazquez alleged that Jan-Pro’s three-tier business model was designed to misclassify janitors as independent contractors.

The Plaintiff, Vazquez, Claims Jan-Pro Violated California Labor Law: 

The Plaintiff in the case, Vazquez, claims Jan-Pro violated employment law. The Plaintiff alleges that Jan Pro’s sophisticated three-tier franchising model was designed to misclassify workers. The district court dismissed the putative class of plaintiffs’ suit against the international business. The Ninth Circuit court vacated the district court’s dismissal, holding that Dynamex Ops. W. Inc. v. Superior Court 416 P.3d 1 (Cal. 2018), which resulted in the adoption of the now standard ABC test to determine classification of California employees per California wage order laws, applied retroactively. The Ninth Circuit court remanded the case to district court for consideration on the merits in light of Dynamex. Two additional orders were published in connection to the original order from the Ninth Circuit Court. The panel certified to the California Supreme Court the issue of retroactive application of Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court, 416 P.3d 1 (Cal. 2018). 

What Question Does the California Supreme Court Need to Decide? 

The question the California Supreme Court will need to decide when hearing Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. is whether Dynamex v. Superior Court, the case that set forth the ABC test for classification of independent contractors, is applicable retroactively. 

The California Supreme Court’s Decision on Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc.: 

If the California Supreme Court finds that Dynamex is found to apply retroactively, it’s possible that California misclassification claims could be reopened all the way back to before the 2018 Dyamex resolution. 

If you have questions about California labor law violations or how employment law protects you against labor law violations, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in any one of various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.