In its continuing efforts to promote and protect the franchise model, IFA is launching a Congressional Franchise Caucus during the 2016 Franchise Action Network (FAN) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Congressional caucuses are formed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate to educate the public, thought leaders, and other members of Congress on various issues.

You, the tireless, hardworking franchise owners of this nation, are needed to step forward and tell your story to lawmakers. Don’t wait, do it now. It all starts with a “yes.”

IFA President and CEO Robert Cresanti, CFE, recently kicked off the @OurFranchise Campaign by launching a nationwide tour starting in franchising hub Denver, Colo. The road show will share the stories of how local franchise business owners and their employees are supporting communities while creating jobs and business ownership opportunities. As the common phrase goes, with a franchise, you “go into business for yourself, but not by yourself.” And each year, millions of Americans start businesses, find jobs and gain important vocational skills through this unique way of doing business. 

To create stronger relationships with elected officials, other business organizations and franchise small-business community members in each state, IFA’s Franchise Action Network is establishing statewide “captains,” charging them with building stronger network structures in their state.

FranPAC, IFA’s Political Action Committee, which raises and distributes campaign funds to candidates seeking political office, helps us to support candidates who understand the issues important to small businesses and who favor policies that will ease the regulatory burdens on today’s business owners, particularly franchise business owners.

Teams from the International Franchise Association visited the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in July to spread the positive impacts of franchising and strengthen the connections with candidates and existing legislators to help protect the franchise business model.

One of the most important steps that a franchise business can take to ensure that it is following all necessary regulations is to define the expectations that both franchisor and franchisees have for the business.

In its final year, the Obama Administration has been churning out new regulations at a feverish pace, sometimes issuing hundreds of new regulations each day. One recent safety and health regulation may greatly affect franchises in numerous business lines.

The IFA and Asian American Hotel Owners Association’s combined efforts to educate federal and state lawmakers about the impact of the joint-employer rule on franchising have yielded significant dividends to make the regulatory landscape more secure for franchise businesses.

Changing the joint-employer policy is applying tension to franchisor-franchisee relationships. A new IFA-U.S. Chamber of Commerce report could be an important entry into the policy debate in Washington, D.C. and around the country as IFA seeks a permanent solution to protect franchise businesses from undeserved liability for another firm’s workers.