---
title: "Hotdog chain Demands Joint Employer Clarification"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/0cfae3fa-de17-4a7c-bf5b-e93b008ca891
source: "Global Franchise"
original_url: https://www.global-franchise.com/news/hotdog-chain-demands-joint-employer-clarification
author: "Global Franchise Team"
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2017-07-25T11:43:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T22:32:58.457Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1505664194779-8beaceb93744?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# Hotdog chain Demands Joint Employer Clarification

**TL;DR:** Dat Dog, a hotdog chain, is calling for a roll-back of the wider definition of 'joint employer' which it sees as potentially restrictive for business. The company's expansion plans in the South may be impacted by the current definition.

*By Global Franchise Team, originally published in Global Franchise on 2017-07-25. [Read the original](https://www.global-franchise.com/news/hotdog-chain-demands-joint-employer-clarification).*

## Story

Dat Dog has added its voice to those calling for a roll-back of the wider definition of ‘joint employer’ which came into being during the Obama era. The New Orleans-based hot dog business which opened its first store on Freret St in 2011 was among several concepts requesting clarification of the present definition – which many franchisors see as potentially restrictive for business – to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Jerry Reese, who heads up franchise development for Dat Dog, said the current definition of joint employer threatened the company’s plans to expand in the South. Dat Dog, which already has locations in Lafayette and Hattiesburg, has been looking to establish further franchised outlets in Mississippi and this year announced that it is looking for franchisees in the Gulf South region.

“Implementing our expansion plan will certainly depend on Congress’s willingness to help address regulatory obstacles that make the future growth of small businesses, like ours, uncertain,” Reese said. “As with any business that is fortunate enough to grow, we now face new risks. Joint employer is the most prominent risk on our minds.”

## Entities

- Restaurants (sector)
- franchise development (topic)
- Global Franchise (publication)
- expansion plans (topic)
- James Fell (person)
- regulation (topic)
- joint employer (topic)
- House Committee on Education and the Workforce (regulator)

---
Originally reported by Global Franchise Team, Global Franchise (https://www.global-franchise.com/news/hotdog-chain-demands-joint-employer-clarification). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/0cfae3fa-de17-4a7c-bf5b-e93b008ca891).