The Trump administration has declared the American Franchise Act a legislative priority for 2026, with a senior White House official calling publicly for passage before year-end at the annual IFA Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. The bill would establish a permanent federal standard for the joint employer relationship, ending more than a decade of regulatory reversals that have created recurring uncertainty for the country’s 832,000 small franchise businesses.
The 2026 IFA Advocacy Summit, held in Washington, D.C., drew more than 500 attendees from across the franchise industry. It served as the backdrop for one of the most direct White House signals yet on the American Franchise Act, delivered by Vince Haley, Director of Domestic Policy at the White House.
The franchise sector represents nearly 9 million jobs across the United States and accounts for a significant share of small business formation, figures that franchising advocates have cited repeatedly in lobbying for stable federal standards governing employer relationships in franchise systems.
White House Signals 2026 Must Be the Year for the Act
Speaking at the IFA Advocacy Summit on September 23, White House Director of Domestic Policy Vince Haley delivered an unambiguous message on the timeline. The administration’s position represents a meaningful escalation: the bill has previously had congressional support but has not reached the floor of the full House or Senate for a vote.
“We have to get it done this year,” said Vince Haley, White House Director of Domestic Policy. The statement, delivered directly to an audience of franchise operators and brand executives, was interpreted by industry observers as the strongest executive branch endorsement the legislation has received to date.
What the American Franchise Act Would Do: Ending a Decade of Regulatory Whiplash
The American Franchise Act would codify a permanent federal definition of “joint employer” as it applies to franchise relationships, insulating franchise networks from liability for the labor practices of independently owned and operated franchisee businesses. The joint employer standard has changed four times since 2015, cycling between broader and narrower interpretations depending on the administration in power.
Each reversal has generated legal uncertainty for both franchisors and franchisees, affecting hiring practices, operations, and investment decisions across the industry. A statutory standard, proponents argue, would remove the issue from the regulatory pendulum and place it beyond the reach of future administrative rulemaking.
Congressional Progress: Committee Vote and a Senate Companion Bill
The American Franchise Act has advanced further through Congress than in previous legislative cycles. The House Education and Workforce Committee cleared the bill on July 22, 2026, by a vote of 23 to 18. The bill gathered 142 House cosponsors and launched with bipartisan support at introduction in September 2025, with seven Republican and seven Democratic cosponsors.
A companion bill also exists in the Senate. The bipartisan framing reflects the composition of the franchise sector itself: franchise small businesses operate in every congressional district in the country, which has historically made the issue a point of common ground across party lines on the question of local job creation.
What Comes Next for the Legislation
The path from committee clearance to a full House floor vote and then to the Senate remains contested. Congress faces a compressed calendar for the remainder of 2026, and the bill competes for floor time with a range of other legislative priorities. The IFA has committed sustained lobbying resources to advance the bill this session, and the White House signal at the summit adds executive branch weight to that effort.
Whether the Senate companion bill advances in parallel will be a key variable. Industry stakeholders will watch for floor scheduling announcements in the House and any motion to proceed in the Senate as primary indicators of momentum in the weeks ahead.
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