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Please read the following link. I't an article on the lawsuit we have against jan-pro. Copy and paste.
http://franchisetimes.com/content/story.php?article=01374
To the voice of lies, I see that you are here again. Basically the voice of lies is saying that it's ok for you to get ripped-off. What kind of people run jan-pro. Who is voice of Lies ? Voice of Lies is Just someone trying to do Damage control.
Meanwhile more people keep posting and complaining. More lawsuits keep getting filled. I just heard of another lawsuit being filled. I bet they will try and settle that out of court to, to keep it out of the records.
Coverall Lost ! Franchisor HIT HARD !
Cleaners WIN !
Awuah WINS !
BOSTON – Today the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court smacked Coverall janitorial franchise system with a huge bill for labeling its employees as franchisees.
The high court ruled that the franchisor must pay back franchise related fees, including franchise fees, promissory note payments, additional business fees, and payments for insurance.
Experts think the ruling that franchisees can be disguised employees will ripple down to other franchise systems and other states.
Coverall argued that the franchisee should only be allowed to collect fees directly related to the misclassification. Because the additional fees Pius Awuah sought were the result of his contract agreement with the franchisor, Coverall asserted that they should not apply to the damages he sought.
Coverall SJC Decision
U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young ruled (pdf) that the misclassified employees could collect wages, insurance premiums and other employment benefits, but the attorneys for the franchisees weren't satisfied. Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordon stated that her clients should also be paid all fees. She said, "By requiring companies to fully reimburse employees for all the fees they incurred as a result of misclassification, the court will send a message to employers that wage law violations will not be tolerated."
The judge then certified the Awuah v Coverall case to Massachusetts highest court after determining that state wage laws require employers to cover certain statutory costs of doing business, and that shifting such expenses to a misclassified worker constitutes damages incurred. Because the Supreme Judicial Court had no controlling precedence, Judge Young submitted pertinent questions to give the court the opportunity to set a precedent in defining the damages that should be available to the employees misclassified as independent contractors.
On one pertinent question addressing whether Coverall could deduct franchise fees from the employees' wages, the state's Supreme Court concluded, "No. . . the Wage Act forbids the deduction."
Prior to the decision the case had brought criticism from the franchisor community. Coverall attorney Michael D. Vhay of Boston's DLA Piper stated that broadening the damages beyond wages and benefits would produce a flood of litigation and drive franchisors from the state because they would be unable to collect fees from franchisees.
Steve Calderia, CEO of the International Franchise Association said, "On behalf of the franchise industry, we urge the court to fully take into account the unique attributes of franchising and the federal regulatory oversight of the franchise business model."
Following the court's decision, Liss-Riordan said, "Today's ruling from the SJC is a long-awaited victory for potentially thousands of cleaning workers throughout Massachusetts. The court determined that Massachusetts wage laws and public policy prohibit employers from selling jobs to employees." Liss-Riordan added that the commercial cleaning industry has been plagued by companies such as Coverall that claim to be franchisors but are really employers who make their money by profiting off of their own workers. She said, "This ruling will allow commercial cleaning to be performed in Massachusetts by legitimate employers who do not charge their workers for their jobs. The ruling will have huge ramifications on the commercial cleaning industry, as well as potentially other industries, and the ruling will likely have ripple effects in other states."
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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I sadly brought the largest package and they are taking away my business slowly, some very unfairly. Jobs are price so low you can't afford to hire the amount people you need.
It's sad to see a shyster using a legitimate complaints board to drum up business for a lawsuit that in all likelihood he will lose.
THANK GOD SOMEBODY ELSE FELT MY PAIN.THEY ALSO LIED TO ME GAVE ME AN ACCOUNT AT A STEAK HOUSE RESTERANT TOLD ME THAT IT WOULD TAKE ONLY 2 TO 3 HOURS TO CLEAN SO I TOOK IT BUT WHEN I GOT THERE THIS JOB WAS ABT 8 TO 10 HRS LONG, MY TAKE HOME PAY WAS $800 YOU DO THE MATH.NO TRAINING ON HOW TO CLEANIT JUST PUT ME OUT.NOW THIS WAS TOLD TO ME BY A GUY NAME ANTHONY WHO THEY HAD IN CHARGE IN ATLANTA.THE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE OFFICE GET THE BEST JOBS. FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AT [protected]
JAN-PRO OF atlanta is a big rip off.Anthony call me and ask me if I would clean a steak resterant that ony took 2 hours to clean.So I trusted him and said yes well when I got there this job took at least 8 to 10 hours.My take home pay less than $800 and I HAD TO SUPPLY THE CLEANNING SUPPLIES IE buffer pad, soap and this location was a long ways from my house.I was no treated as an business owner but an employee.The guys they had to come out an do the inspections told the customer they were my supvisor.In the begainng I was never given a list of any other business onwers that live in my area.I didnt find out about a list until I read a complaint against the franchise.I also found out that if you work in the office you had first choice on the contract you wanted.Just check out the contracts of those who did they inspection in the year of 2006
William52,
Did you not even bother to read the FDD? Did you not do a walk-thru? If you had done even a little homework, you would not have half of the headaches that you claim.
They don't allow franchise owners to do a walk through until AFTER the offer is accepted. These folks are stating facts. Maybe you need to create your own post and see how many people respond and how...
Solutions
I was a Jan-Pro Franchissee. I had moved here from another state and did not know the area needed work and bought a franchise. I have 20 years experince in this industry and have started and ran very strong successful janitorial firms. At least 3/4 of their accounts are under bid. They take out 21% of the top in fees. Then on new business they take 26% a month in comisson fees. That is a total of 47% off the top. They make a killing of the insurance without a license to sell such. They monopolize on supplies in many of the territories reselling to the franchisees with a mark up and may I note with out a resale number. They tell the consumer that we are their crews / employees. When the C-fees are almost paid they will begin to try to sell the consumer that they have someone that can do a better job for them. This clearly interfering in a business relationship and a fraudulent practice in the fact that they turn around and collect these c-fees all over again. I have letters from customers that serve as documentation of what they said and have done. The basis of the whole module is full of conflicts of interest and unfair and deceitful business practices. They totaly misrepresented and lied or I would have never invested. Everyone, needs to go to the US Department of Labor. Many of you that have been franchissees have been destroyed by the Jan Pro scam. Therefore, it has been dificult to obtain proper representation. The US Department of labor will establish many things. 1. We have been employees and not true sub contractors by every examination of the law, as a result they are actually responsible for withholding taxes and can also be fined 100% for every dollar owed. 2. We that have suffered as a result of their behaviour need to organize for a common cause and begin to build a record amongst every one you can contact in your local states, this needs to be brought to together and will easily be the foundation for a clase action lawsuit. 3. I know it is hard but stop just looking out for your own individual good and for once look at the greater good of all the people, do not settle out of court we need case law established against them. 4. The franchisee cleaning industry can be good for alot of people but there has to be some strong legal boundries and checks and balances of power instituted before it can work. Things have gone far enough that there needs to be legislation past restricting them. There needs to be a nation wide union established. There is alot of work that needs to be done but most off all to accomplish all there is a need for leadership in each individual area. Summary: Set a platform and agenda, come together for a common cause, build the record this is important to getting the attention of law makers and the justice department, bring in checks and balances (they should never be able to to recharge C-fees for any account. If they transfer an account in the name of protecting the brand name they should not be able to recolect c-fees. The union would serve as a protect against the unfair practices they constantly engage in. Franchisees dont get stupid just because they may be loading you up this month does not mean anything becasue it is a matter of time till they rotate accounts on you as well. I would love to see the franchisees walk out colectivly in a strike formate. I wonder how they would view and treat them them. HMMM! My attorneys that looked at the case have said that they believe these jokers have actually committed felonies and could go to prison. We have to bind together and fix this. There is lives being ruined, marriages being broken, childrens lives being torn apart, homes being lost, cars repoed as a result of their actions. I has to stop with no toleration. We can do it together but will accomplish little apart and on our own.
I work For a master franchise in the Jan-Pro system and have been with them for over 10 years I have seen people come and go I have also seen people that have started out with the smallest package and built their company up over the years and are billing over 200 thousand a year. The system works if you do it right and work as a team Jan-pro can not do it for you. These people are business owners not employees. I have seen people fail for different reasons. It saddens me that their are so many people out here that are downing Jan-Pro when they only know 1 side of the story when we have tried to work with people that are struggling and go out to the accounts with them and work with them and help them figure out why it is taking so long for them to do to see if their is a faster way that they can get through the account and still complete the scope of work. Their are a lot of people out here that don't want to take responsibilities for their own actions or their employees actions and don't run this as a business or don't even show up but they want to scream and holler when they lose that account. Also in the US you can put in a lawsuit for the coffee you spilled on yourself while you are in a restaurant doesn't mean you are going to get anything out of it. I have heard of all kind of lawsuits being brought against Jan-Pro but haven't seen anything yet and this has been going on for years. Jan-Pro has a set up just like McDonald's, Subway and other franchising companies and if you do the program and work with them you WILL succeed I have seen it over and over again. To each their own with this lawsuit if you can pull it off good luck but just like anything do your research and talk to them about it also. Everone makes mistakes and no company is 100% fail prof but if you put in the time to learn about WHY these people are complaining on both sides you may learn something cause I can put you in touch with people in our system who have failed miserably and was upset but when they took a look at the WHOLE picture the ended up coming back and buying another unit franchise from us. Life is not always what you expect it to be but if you take responsibilities for your actions you may just learn a valuable lesson in it all
As a franchise OWNER, we expect to get at least 50% on return which does not happen. The restaurant industry is set up totally different than janitorial. We get charged such things as admin fees for each account and don't ever use. We have to do our own books. I can go on and on about what is wrong with Jan Pro. Had I known better, I would not have bought a franchise from them. I still own my company's name. I went and purchased my own insurance. I am about to pull away from them. People leave for good reason. I personally had a family member who made 6 figures. He left because of how they do business. I had a jealous field representative try and take a contract from me and actually made me lose others. I would not have known had my contract exposed what was happening. This speech is cute but not valid.
I have lost contracts through Jan Pro. The latest, is Monday at 1:30 pm Jan Pro is having a walk through at Pediatrics on Demand in Oak Lawn, Ill with another franchisee.
They only started paying me on this account 2 months ago and I got the account last February 2013.
What they are doing is called :"sweat equity" where they keep all of the profits for 6 months. They pay nothing for labor.
They are now reselling this account to another franchisee.
They also 1099 me, claiming they paid me all of those profits, when in fact they deduct 40-60% of every check.
Jan Pro does not help anyone, they just resell your account to someone else
I work for jan- pro in Couradalene Idaho. She had me working more then eight to ten hours a day. When I told her that I can only work four hours a day. She had a fit. She told me that if she knew the she would have not made me work all those hours. I am semi-retired and now she is treating me like I am a disabled freak. When she hired me I was only doing one building, then she keep adding. Now she is saying that people like us should be dead. So if your disabled watch out people are not your friend.
I am a franchise owner of Jan pro also in Georgia and I believe that they take way too much money out of your check when they're not the ones performing the job, also they products are very expensive
If I’m supposed to be a franchisee, why am I paying for insurance is such a ridiculous rate just doing basic shopping for business insurance I can get a policy covering my business up to $2 million for $40 a month this company is ripping me off as well is ripping other franchisees. After all of my expenses I’m making less than minimum wage total ripoff I’m pretty sure what they quoted me the job with pay that they’re getting double the amount and taken half of my money which would put them in a win-win situation the need to stop being so greedy and spread the wealth
I am currently going through much of what was discussed in the previous comments about Jan-Pro. I am in Cincinnati Ohio. I'm looking for information on any current lawsuits against them. If anyone knows anything about this. please contact me. davidbest34@yahoo.com
Tired of the slave labor.
Hi my email is moralesnicole36@ gmail.com please contact me same office and problems
Vasquez nailed it!
Looking at my fees, Jan Pro takes out, national fee, business fee, in the$100 range.
I said something few years prior and one of the office people saw this, rated me out.
Pers Ops manager in Burr Ridge Illinois confronted me but it's true everything Vasquez said!
Misclassificatiin.
We have to buy the job, the supplies and equipment.
Jan Pro can take that job and sell to another franchisee. This has happened to me 5× under sweat equity where Jan Pro keeps 100% profit for 6 months.
Before the time is up they have to pay they sell the job to someone else.
We don't own anything, any business, Jan Pro does
There's nothing to report at tax time what we paid as fees and royalties.
Is Jan Pro reporting this income.
Where I'm at they bought a fleet of company cars for their cushy office workers.
Beautiful office off of what franchisees are making.
What I'm dealing with now, Sate of Illinois, tax time is Jan Pro had us incorporate.
I paid them a fee for that.
The State thinks I'm a big corporation, when I just clean 5 businesses.
Jan Pro deducts a percentage for fees, royalties, and yet I got a couple raises, which JanPro took their portion.
There is no capital.
I can't afford to hire help.
They got their fleet for office workers, which not lying one night after hours, I saw them with the company car at the laundromat in Justice, 79th street. I bet using personal use.
I pay for any supplies, equipment, wear and tear on my car.