U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (SBC), today released the following statement regarding a new report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the International Franchise Association (IFA), which illustrates the expected negative impacts of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new joint employer standard on small businesses and the economy.

“The NLRB’s misguided and unnecessary change to the joint employer standard will dismantle a proven system that has worked for over three decades, inevitably damaging the relationship between franchisors and franchisees,” said Vitter. “Today’s U.S. Chamber and IFA report underscores my serious concerns with the NLRB’s short-sighted joint employer standard that will force uncertainty on small businesses. I will continue working with my colleagues to reverse the new standard so that small businesses are in a better place to grow and succeed.”

Last week, Chairman Vitter held a hearing entitled, “Keeping the American Dream Alive: The Challenge to Create Jobs Under the NLRB’s New Joint Employer Standard.” Witnesses testified on the severe economic impacts the NLRB is already having on small employers. Click here to read more.

In August 2015, NLRB issued a ruling that redefined its criteria for what qualifies a business as a joint employer. The NLRB’s rule fundamentally changes the proven, successful franchise model of business and leaves many small business employers liable to violate unfair labor practices.

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