32 Business View - January 2016
relationship with the SBA to help America’s small busi-
nesses flourish,” added Caldeira. “SBA loan programs
provide significant and crucial capital to franchise busi-
nesses and more capital could clearly be utilized. We
respectfully thank SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-
Sweet and the agency for the opportunity to share our
views on this important topic and we look forward to
continuing the dialogue to ensure loans are available
for the qualified, hard- working business owners and
aspiring entrepreneurs across America.”
IFA to Appeal in Federal Circuit Court
to Stop Seattle’s Discrimination
Against Franchises
The International Franchise Association, the world’s
largest organization representing franchise owners,
announced that it will appeal a recent decision in fed-
eral court that allows the city of Seattle to discrimi-
nate against small franchised businesses as part of
the city’s 2014 minimum wage law. IFA sought a pre-
liminary injunction, which was denied by U.S. District
Judge Richard A. Jones.
IFA and five Seattle franchisees gave notice that they
will appeal Judge Jones’ decision to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The original
lawsuit was filed in June 2014. It requested fair treat-
ment for franchises under the law, which treats them
as large, national companies, rather than the small,
locally-owned businesses that they are.
“Franchisees deserve fairness under the law and we
will continue to aggressively advocate on their behalf
in federal circuit court,” IFA President & CEO Steve Cal-
deira said. “We are not seeking to prevent Seattle’s
minimum wage increase from going into effect. Our ap-
peal will be focused on the blatant discriminatory mis-
treatment of franchisees under Seattle’s new law and
FRANCHISE
