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Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

jweisbord@franchise.org

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IFA Applauds Legislation to Restore Forty-Hour Work Week in the Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, September 19—International Franchise Association Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations Matt Haller released the statement below applauding the introduction of the Forty Hours Is Full Time Act introduced by Sen. Collins and Sen. Donnelly and H.R. 3798, the Save American Workers Act,  by Reps. Walorski and Lipinski, companion legislation to restore the commonsense definition of full-time employment to the traditional forty-hour work week in the Affordable Care Act:

“The ACA’s radical definition of full-time employment of 30 hours of work per week is significantly below the traditional definition of 40 hours.  The substantial changes in calculating full-time employment as it relates to the employer mandate has forced locally-owned franchise businesses to reduce hours, which has had a particularly negative impact on hourly, part-time, and seasonal workers.

“IFA commends efforts to restore the common-sense definition of full-time employment and provide relief for locally-owned businesses and the workers they employ.  This bipartisan, commonsense bill will give businesses the certainty they need to create jobs, and it will give workers the opportunities they need to succeed.

“Locally owned franchises are America’s hidden small businesses, with 733,000 establishments across the country. The entrepreneurs who make up the franchising system directly contribute $674.3 billion in economic output, accounting for roughly 2.5 percent of the private sector U.S. GDP.”

IFA has worked to educate lawmakers that certain provisions under the Affordable Care Act were unworkable for franchise owners who work across various industries, including restaurants, retail, lodging and service-related businesses. 

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About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.