Case Information

• Vazquez et al. v. Jan-Pro Franchising, International, Inc.

• The United States District Court for the Northern District of California

• Case No. 3:16-cv-05961-WHA

• (866)-610-9797

• JanProSettlement@simpluris.com

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer

This notice is to inform you of a proposed class action settlement in the case of Vazquez et al. v. Jan-Pro Franchising, Int’l, Case No. 3:16-cv-05961-WHA (N.D. Cal.), pending before Judge William Alsup in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

The central issue in the Vazquez lawsuit is whether Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. (“JPI”) misclassified unit franchisees who performed cleaning services in California as unit franchise owners and independent contractors, as opposed to JPI’s employees. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that because unit franchisees should be classified as employees, certain of JPI’s conduct and policies in California violated California labor law. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that JPI unlawfully deducted management fees and sales and marketing fees (also known as “upgrade fees”) from unit franchisees’ revenue, failed to pay unit franchisees for mandatory training, and failed to reimburse unit franchisees for cleaning-related expenses, including cleaning supplies and uniforms.

In August 2022, the court found that JPI was liable for these violations. Accordingly, the court scheduled a trial for October 2023 to determine the damages JPI owed to the class for these violations. JPI denies any wrongdoing and liability and contends that unit franchisees were properly classified as independent contractors and JPI complied at all times with applicable California law. The court did not oversee a trial on the damages JPI owes unit franchisees. Instead, the parties agreed to a settlement that they believe is a fair, reasonable, and adequate compromise. The parties reached this settlement following 15 years of litigation.

Under the settlement, JPI will pay $30,000,000 into a settlement fund that will be paid out to unit franchisees who are settlement class members and submit claim forms. Assuming a 100% claims rate, and after accounting for (1) deductions for attorneys’ fees not to exceed one-third of the total settlement ($10,000,000) (which will come out of the settlement), (2) administration costs not to exceed $43,000, (3) service awards not to exceed $5,000 to the three lead plaintiffs who initiated and pursued this lawsuit on behalf of the class, and (4) $25,000 to each of three lead plaintiffs for their individual claims, the average settlement share per claiming settlement class member will be approximately $7,500, assuming a claim rate of 100%. If half of the settlement class submits a claim form, the average share will be double this amount, or roughly $15,000. Settlement shares will be allocated based on the unit franchisee’s years of service, as well as an estimate of each unit franchisee’s potential damages, as determined by the size of their unit franchise package and their annual income. Additional details regarding how shares will be calculated is available below. All class members who submit a claim form will receive at least $3,000.