FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770
Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766
mhaller@franchise.org
jweisbord@franchise.org
IFA Urges Senate Committee to Reject Appointment of Sharon Block to NLRB
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2014 —The International Franchise Association today strongly urged U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking Member Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to reject Sharon Block’s nomination as a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) due to her predisposition to support reckless, illegal and unconstitutional measures that would destroy small businesses in America.
In a letter sent to the committee, IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira, CFE, questioned Sharon Block’s ability to impartially administer and enforce critical federal laws which will have a devastating impact on the entire franchise industry and the jobs it creates. In a previous court ruling, Noel Canning, the Supreme Court ruled President Obama violated the Constitution when he appointed three board members to the NLRB, including Block, during a brief Senate break in January 2012.
“Sharon Block’s appointment appears to be a direct repudiation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Noel Canning,” Caldeira stated in the letter. “Her second appointment seems to be an attempt to legitimize her unconstitutional tenure. At a minimum, Sharon Block should agree to recuse herself from participation in any Noel Canning-related cases.”
The NLRB’s decisions will have widespread impact for millions of employers and employees in the country and over the next several years, including joint employer liability. The NLRB General Counsel’s recent recommendation that McDonald’s Corp. can be held as a joint employer with its franchisees disregards decades of established federal and state laws regarding the franchise model. If found as joint employers, franchisors would be liable for individually-owned franchisees’ employment practices.
“Any circumvention of established law regarding the joint employer rule flies in the face of job creation in an already-jobless recovery. Multiple businesses and contractual relationships are based on this decades-old, proven standard, which is supported by established law,” Caldeira said. “If Sharon Block is confirmed, the NLRB will inject itself into complex business relationships, which are completely unrelated to labor relations. Doing so casts doubt on its status as a neutral enforcer of the law.”
The new rules could dampen franchising efforts and economic growth as franchise businesses continue to add jobs faster than the rest of the private sector. “It is important to ensure that any NLRB Board member is an impartial decision-maker who fairly considers the interests of all participants,” Caldeira expressed.
The IFA will continue to educate Congress of the drastic impact the NLRB’s actions have on employers, employees and the economy.
To read the full letter to the committee, please click here.
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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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