IFA Applauds U.S. House Efforts to Defund Joint Employer

Leads coalition of 15 organizations in support for language in FY25 Appropriations bill; Provision would “prevent implementation of the NLRB’s onerous rule and protect small businesses and jobs across the country”

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The International Franchise Association (IFA) today led a group of 15 organizations in applauding appropriators in the U.S. House of Representatives for including language in the 2025 appropriations bill that would prevent federal funds from being used to administer, implement, or enforce the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) expanded joint employer rule.

“By including language to defund the NLRB’s onerous joint employer rule, lawmakers have done a great service to small business and jobs everywhere,” said Michael Layman, IFA senior vice president, government relations and public affairs. “We applaud the Committee for prioritizing franchised businesses and urge all members to support this bill so that entrepreneurs can breathe easier knowing that joint employer won’t be implemented anytime soon.”

The letter, addressed to Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), was issued ahead of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee Markup of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2025.

Read the full letter here.

Issued in October 2023, the NLRB’s joint employer rule would deem franchisors and franchisees jointly liable, taking away the independence of franchise owners – the hallmark of the franchise business model. When a similar rule was issued in 2015, it cost franchised businesses $33.3 billion per year, resulted in 376,000 lost job opportunities, and led to 93% more lawsuits.

Bipartisan legislation to overturn the rule passed the U.S. House in January 2024 and the U.S. Senate in April 2024. In March 2024, the Fifth District of Texas struck down the rule following an IFA and coalition-led lawsuit, taking aim at the NLRB for exceeding the scope of its authority and violating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by failing to respond to comments regarding the rule’s harmful economic consequences.

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About the International Franchise Association:

Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) 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 approximately 806,270 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.7 million direct jobs, $858.5 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 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.

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