Bill makes it harder for franchise workers to sue parent firms.

What it does

This bill changes when a parent firm must pay for worker harm. It says a parent firm is only responsible with 'substantial direct and right-now control' over work. Setting rules, giving training, and suggesting staff levels do not count as control. Franchise workers may lose power to sue the parent firm for wage theft, unsafe work, or unfair treatment.

Who it affects

Franchise workers in fast food, hotels, and stores lose power to hold parent firms responsible. The people who run franchise spots and parent firms gain shield from lawsuits.

One thing to notice

Workers can only sue the person who runs their franchise spot, not the parent firm. The parent firm sets pay and work rules but stays out of reach.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

158 cosponsors: 140 Republicans, 17 Democrats, 1 Independents.

• Sep 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Sep 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
• Jul 21, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jul 21, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 15”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

36 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 54 reports from Sep 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $18,165,070 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 6 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 98% of bills with any report.

Kevin Hern, who sponsored the bill, received $2,025,151 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• American Association for Justice — $3,610,000 in 2 reports
• Fedex Corporation — $2,930,000 in 1 report
• Nfib (national Federation of Independent Business) — $1,670,000 in 1 report
• National Restaurant Association — $1,620,000 in 2 reports
• AFL-CIO — $1,520,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• franchise workers — People who work at a store or restaurant that is part of a big brand.
• parent firm — The big firm that owns the brand and lets others run stores with that name.
• wage theft — When a firm does not pay workers the money they earned.
• substantial direct and right-now control — Strong power to make decisions about work right at that moment.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.