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November 18, 2025

President Trump Speaks to Franchisees

On November 17, during a speech at McDonald’s Impact Summit in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump spoke to over 400 franchise businesspeople and highlighted the importance of a clear “joint employer” standard that protects America’s nearly 850,000 franchise small businesses. 

Our Thought Bubble: Nearly one hundred IFA members from across industries joined the McDonald’s event. IFA applauded President Trump’s longstanding support for franchising through a commonsense joint employer standard and reiterated the importance of codifying that policy through the bipartisan American Franchise Act (AFA), which is up to 40 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives 

What This Means: Read more from The Wall Street Journal, who highlighted the significance of his mention of the joint employer standard and the need for the American Franchise Act.

IFA Defeats Harmful Olympia Measure

On Election Day in Olympia, Washington, IFA advocacy helped sink Proposition 1, a local ballot initiative known as the "Workers' Bill of Rights" that would have harmed the city's business landscape. 

Going Deeper: The measure, which failed by 857 votes, would have established a $20 dollar minimum wage and raised compliance costs for franchise owners. 

Zoom Out: IFA and its coalition partners, through the Olympia Together campaign, helped lead the successful effort to defeat the initiative and ensure a fairer environment for small business owners.

IFA Defending Virginia Right-To-Work

IFA has formally joined Keep Virginia Working, a coalition of employers, retailers, and restaurant groups urging lawmakers to protect the Commonwealth’s current Right-To-Work law and avoid policies that raise labor costs. 

Going Deeper: With Democrats now controlling both chambers in Richmond, speculation is increasing about efforts to roll back Right-To-Work in 2026, which would mark a major shift with statewide economic implications. 

So What: Repeal of Virginia's Right-To-Work law would make the Old Dominion less competitive and increase operational pressures on the state’s more than 25,000 franchise establishments and their workforce.

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Senate Considering IFA-Endorsed NLRB Nominee

On November 19, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is expected to vote on Scott Mayer, the IFA-endorsed nominee to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

Zoom In: Currently, the five-member NLRB only has one member and four vacancies, which means the independent agency lacks a quorum to properly carry out its mission, and IFA has called for an NLRB consisting of pro-growth appointees to support the future and stability of the franchise model. 

Our Thought Bubble: In July, IFA applauded the selection of Mayer and the Trump Administration for prioritizing the vacancies at the NLRB with outstanding selections – pushing for swift confirmation by the U.S. Senate. 

IFA General Counsel and Member Appointed to Key Position

IFA General Counsel Sarah Davies, along with IFA member Michael Seid, founder of MSA Worldwide, have been appointed to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Franchise Project Group 2026 Advisory Committee, reflecting IFA’s continued leadership in shaping fair and effective franchise regulatory policy. 

Why It Matters: The committee’s top priority for 2026 is finalizing the Model Broker Registration Act, which IFA has supported through prior comment periods as an important step toward improving consistency and oversight of third-party franchise sellers. 

The Big Picture: IFA appreciates the opportunity to help finalize this important initiative that will increase transparency in the franchise sales process and advance IFA’s Responsible Franchising Principles. 

IFA Law Center Fights Harmful Notice Standards 

On November 17, the IFA Law Center, along with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), filed an amicus brief in a case involving abusive notice practices in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). 

Dig Deeper: IFA is taking aim at a precedent that allows plaintiffs to request that courts send lawsuit invitations to employees of entirely separate franchisees, even when those employees had no connection to the claims at issue. IFA argues these expansive notices sweep thousands of uninvolved workers into litigation, inflating case size, driving up costs, and creating pressure to settle. 

Why It Matters: Without action by the U.S. Supreme Court, franchise systems will continue to face unnecessary, systemwide legal exposure caused solely by permissive and inconsistent notice standards.