The joint employer standard has changed four times in the last decade. Franchise brands have been quietly restructuring their operations around every shift—pulling back franchisee support, shelving HR programs, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In this episode, Leighton Healey talks with Haider Murtaza, Senior Director of Federal Government Relations at the International Franchise Association, about what that uncertainty has cost franchising, what the American Franchise Act would change, and why the most powerful voice on this issue isn't a lobbyist; it's a franchise owner in a congressional district.