IFA Applauds House Bill to Restore 40-Hour Work Week Definition in Affordable Care Act

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

mhaller@franchise.org

jweisbord@franchise.org


IFA APPLAUDS HOUSE BILL TO RESTORE 40-HOUR WORK WEEK DEFINITION IN AFFORDABLE CARE ACT


WASHINGTON, June 28, 2013—On the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act, IFA today applauded a new bill introduced by Rep. Todd Young (R-IN.), the Save American Workers (SAW) Act, a bill that would repeal the 30-hour definition of “full-time employment” in the Affordable Care Act and restore the traditional 40-hour definition.


“The Affordable Care Act’s unworkable definition of a full-time work week completely moved the goal posts on small business franchise owners, causing new franchise development to be curtailed, jobs to be lost or not created and in some cases, employees hours to be managed to avoid triggering costly penalties associated with the employer mandate,” said IFA President and CEO Steve Caldeira. “For many franchise small business owners who operate on razor-thin profit margins already, this bill would provide some relief for employers ahead of full implementation of the law.”


According to a study by the nonpartisan Hudson Institute, the employer mandate puts 3.2 million full-time jobs at risk in the franchise industry alone, and will add more than $6.4 billion in increased costs to franchise businesses, not including the cost of regulatory compliance.


In introducing the bill, Rep. Young pointed out that the Affordable Care Act marks the first time that full-time employment has been explicitly defined in federal law, and it was set at a level that is incompatible with existing legal provisions that use the 40-hour standard. For instance, federal law has long dictated that time-and-a-half, or overtime, pay kicks in at 40 hours.


“People in Indiana and all across the country are already feeling the pain of this law because it defines full-time employment as something drastically different that the widely accepted notion of 40 hours per week,” said Young. “Repealing this redefinition and restoring it to the historical norm ensures this bill not only protects low income and middle class employees, it also ensures that laws governing employment are consistent.”


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About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.


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