The administration's public support gives the franchise joint employer bill a real shot in the lame duck session after it stalled before the midterms.
The White House says President Trump supports the American Franchise Act, the bill that would write a single federal joint employer standard for franchising into law. Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley delivered the message at the International Franchise Association's Advocacy Summit, telling nearly 600 registrants the administration wants the bill signed before the current congressional session ends.
The House Education and Workforce Committee advanced the AFA 18 to 15 in late July, but Congress left for the midterms without a floor vote. The bill has 158 House cosponsors, including 17 Democrats, and 11 in the Senate. IFA leadership now expects to push for passage in the lame duck session after November.
The bill mirrors the NLRB's 2020 rule: a franchisor counts as a joint employer only if it holds and exercises substantial, direct and immediate control over essential terms of a franchisee's employees. The NLRB has changed its standard four times in a decade, and the 2023 version that could have tied franchisors to franchisee labor violations was struck down in court. Codifying the rule would end that cycle regardless of who controls the White House.
Shifting rules have pushed franchisors to pull back on HR templates, scheduling tools and training guidance to limit liability, leaving franchisees to buy that support from third parties. A durable standard lets brands put that support back into the system without legal exposure. Multi-unit operators planning HR, payroll or workforce tech rollouts across brands should watch the lame duck calendar closely.
Lame duck sessions are crowded with spending bills, and the committee vote split along party lines. White House support raises the odds, but a new Congress in January would force the bill to restart. Franchisors should plan compliance programs around the current NLRB rule until a signature lands.
The White HousePresident Trump's public endorsement of a franchise-specific joint employer standard gives the American Franchise Act new political momentum headed into Congress.
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