Business View - February 2015 49
IFA President/CEO Steve Caldeira applauded the
launch of a new coalition of local business owners
and others who are concerned that the National Labor
Relations Board will expand the definition of joint em-
ployer, ultimately undermining the employer-employee
relationship and diminishing the autonomy millions of
small business owners currently have over their own
business.
“The recent and pending actions redefining the long-
standing and widely-accepted definition of what consti-
tutes a joint employer by the NLRB clearly represents
an existential threat to the franchise business model,”
Caldeira said. “The pending recommendation by the
NLRB’s General Counsel would upend the 780,000
locally-owned franchise businesses across the U.S.
and in turn jeopardize the 8.9 million jobs they directly
support. As more franchisees learned about the NLRB
actions to undermine their local businesses, the more
they sought an opportunity to express their disagree-
ment with the NLRB and engage with their elected rep-
resentatives. The Coalition to Save Local Businesses
provides them with that platform and we’re proud to be
part of it.”
The Coalition to Save Local Businesses aims to inform
members of Congress about the potentially devastat-
ing impact that redefining the joint employer standard
would have on the U.S. economy. IFA proudly supports
the goal of the coalition to seek Congressional support
for legislation that would codify the current and long-
standing definition of what constitutes a joint employer.
Due to pending cases before the NLRB, the franchise
business model faces a serious threat.
Should the NLRB broaden the joint employer definition,
it would expand franchisor responsibilities and make
them more liable for franchisees’ actions. Ultimately,
this would lead to consolidation among the franchisors
FRANCHISE
