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November 26, 2025

Support for American Franchise Act Surges

 Support for the landmark American Franchise Act (AFA) keeps climbing – 49 cosponsors and counting – as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognize the need for a clear, consistent joint employer standard. 

Why It Matters: The growing momentum comes on the heels of President Donald Trump stressing the importance of a commonsense joint employer standard to nearly 500 franchise owners convening in Washington, D.C. at McDonald’s Annual Impact Summit, during which McDonald’s owner/operators asked lawmakers to support the AFA on Capitol Hill.

Dig Deeper: In addition, on November 21, U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern, a former McDonald’s franchisee and author of the AFA, testified during a U.S. House Committee on Education & Workforce hearing pushing for passage of the AFA.

IFA Supports Senate Labor Package

In a letter sent November 21, IFA supported the U.S. Senate HELP Committee’s new labor reform package proposed by Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), calling it a common-sense, pro-worker, pro-small business framework that would bring long-needed stability to federal labor policy. 

Go Deeper: This package includes provisions that would boost worker free choice, improve employee privacy, protect small businesses, and generally defend workplace labor relations.

Our Thought Bubble: The American Franchise Act (AFA) would ultimately be referred to the Senate HELP Committee, and IFA continues to work closely with senators on labor policy.

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IFA Defends Virginia Right-to-Work

Virginia State Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy has filed legislation to repeal Virginia’s Right-to-Work law, escalating a fight between organized labor and businesses with major economic implications for the state. 

Going Deeper: IFA and other business groups in Keep Virginia Working believe a repeal of Right-to-Work would undercut Virginia’s long-held reputation as a competitive, business-friendly state.

Why It Matters: Virginia is one of 26 Right-to–Work states, and repealing the standard would drive up labor costs and weaken the operating environment for the state’s 25,000+ franchise establishments.

Swipe-Fee Deal Reached

Visa and Mastercard reached a proposed settlement on November 10, 2025 in a long-running legal fight with merchants and retailers that could allow merchants to determine which credit cards their stores accept and temporarily lower swipe fees, but business interest groups argue it does not go far enough to provide relief to small businesses facing exorbitant swipe fees. 

What This Means: If approved and implemented, the settlement would temporarily lower swipe fees by an average of 0.1 percentage point for five years, cap swipe fees on standard credit card transactions at 1.25% for eight years, and give merchants the option to accept or reject certain types of cards, like premium rewards cards, though the practical use of such an option seems infeasible for many business owners. 

The Big Picture: The settlement still allows card networks to maintain outsized control over pricing, offering only limited relief while locking merchants into a structure that preserves high fares. Swipe fees remain one of the fastest-growing expenses for franchise owners — in many cases rivaling other major costs like labor. 

Federal Government Agencies Experiencing Delays

The federal government may have reopened, but federal agencies are experiencing delays after 43 days of disruption, and many are not expected to be back to full speed until after the holidays. 

Dig Deeper: The Small Business Administration (SBA), Department of Labor (DOL), and permitting authorities are among the agencies experiencing delays.

What This Means: An estimated $5.3 billion in SBA-backed loans were inaccessible to some 10,000 small businesses during the government shutdown, which was the longest in the nation’s history.