Aleksick v. 7-Eleven, Inc

In Aleksick v. 7-Eleven, Inc. (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1176, a franchisor of convenience stores imposed a contractual obligation on franchisees to obtain payroll services from the franchisor. (Id. at pp. 1180-1181.) A franchisee's employee asserted a UCL class action against the franchisor, alleging that its payroll system did not fully compensate franchisee employees for their work. (Aleksick v. 7-Eleven, Inc., supra, 205 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1180-1181.) When the franchisor secured summary judgment on the claim, the appellate court affirmed, concluding that because the franchisor was not the class members' employer, the UCL claim failed for want of a cognizable unlawful or unfair practice under the Labor Code. (Aleksick v. 7-Eleven, Inc., supra, at pp. 1185-1193.)