IFA Leads a Coalition Supporting the American Franchise Act

The International Franchise Association (IFA) led a coalition letter of more than 100 business, advocacy, and diversity organizations calling on Congress to support the bipartisan American Franchise Act (AFA), H.R. 5267, which is a new legislative approach to provide long-term certainty to franchised businesses. The legislation now has 51 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"As the momentum for the American Franchise Act continues to grow on Capitol Hill, we're proud to lead this coalition of powerful organizations urging lawmakers to act swiftly," said Michael Layman, IFA chief advocacy officer. "Ending the uncertainty around the federal joint-employer standard will protect the independence of small businesses and allow the franchise model to create more opportunity in all corners of this country. For lawmakers on both sides of the aisle focused on addressing their constituents' economic concerns, the American Franchise Act represents an opportunity to make meaningful progress in a bipartisan manner."

The letter, which is available here, stresses the AFA's "commonsense approach to the joint-employer issue, which has mired small businesses in uncertainty for a decade, especially franchises. By codifying a clear, permanent standard for franchising, the AFA will help ensure that this critical business model—which generates around $900 billion in annual U.S. economic output and employs 8.8 million workers in every state and district—continues to grow and support local communities."

The full list of signers to the letter includes 69 state associations and 33 national organizations, including franchisee associations, such as the American Association of Franchisees & Dealers, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Association of Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchisees, Coalition of Franchisee Associations, Dunkin' Donuts Independent Franchise Owners, Franchise Business Services, National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers, National Association of Spa Franchises, National Franchisee Association, and North American Association of Subway Franchisees. It also includes diversity groups, including U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., National ACE, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Other state and local chambers of commerce also signed the letter.

The letter was addressed to bill authors, U.S. Reps. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and Don Davis, D-N.C., the lead sponsors of the bill in the House. Hern, a former McDonald's franchisee, recently spoke before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee on the need to pass the legislation, and Davis spoke on the House floor in September, calling on Congress to pass the measure.

Introduced on Sept. 10, the AFA comes after a decade of changing joint-employer rules and would lock in a clear, franchise-specific joint-employer standard to end years of regulatory whiplash that has raised costs, increased legal risk, and harmed growth for brands, local owners, and their employees. Most recently, the NLRB's 2023 joint-employer rule sought to expand the definition of joint employer to an ambiguous and overly broad standard that threatened the viability of the entire franchise model.

In its 2025 Roadmap For Small Business Growth, IFA identified codifying a joint-employer standard that preserves franchisee independence as its top priority.

For more details on the AFA, click here. The full legislation can be viewed here.