Mr. Speaker, we are here today to debate the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2262, the Flexibility for Workers Education Act; H.R. 2270, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act; H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act; H.R. 4366, the Save Local Business Act, under a closed rule; and H.R. 2988, the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act, under a structured rule. One hour of debate each for H.R. 2262, H.R. 2270, H.R. 2312, H.R. 2988, and H.R.
H.R. 4366: Save Local Business Act
Introduced Jul 14, 20252 cosponsors
Sponsor
James Comer
Republican · KY-1
Bill Progress
IntroducedJul 14
Committee
Pass HouseJan 13
Pass Senate
Signed
Law
Latest Action · Jan 13, 2026
1/2
Passed the House, received in Senate
When wages go unpaid, who's legally your boss?
4 min readLast updated June 14, 2026
Why it matters
If you work at a franchise or through a staffing agency, this bill decides whether the big company behind the brand can be held responsible for your pay — or only the smaller business that signs your checks. It rewrites a single legal test that ripples across franchising, contracting, union organizing, and unpaid-wage lawsuits.
The Save Local Business Act rewrites how federal labor law decides when two companies are both on the hook for the same workers. Today, courts can look at indirect influence or authority a company holds in reserve. This bill narrows that to a much stricter test.
Under the bill, two businesses are joint employers only if each one directly, actually, and immediately exercises significant control over core job matters — hiring, firing, pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision, scheduling, assignments, or discipline. Setting brand standards or general business rules wouldn't be enough on its own.
The practical effect: it gets harder to pull a parent company, brand owner, franchisor, or contractor into a labor dispute over workers it doesn't manage day to day. A national chain that dictates the menu but not who gets hired or fired would have a stronger argument that it isn't your employer.
The same standard would apply in two places at once — union and collective-bargaining cases under the National Labor Relations Act, and minimum-wage and overtime cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Supporters say a single, predictable rule protects franchise owners and small businesses from legal whiplash. Labor advocates counter that a narrower test limits who workers can sue or bargain with when a larger company shapes the job but never formally hires them.
The bill doesn't create any new spending or programs. It changes the legal test under two existing labor laws.
H.R. 4366 Bill Summary
What H.R. 4366 actually does.
1
Direct, immediate control becomes the only test
Two companies count as joint employers only if each one directly, actually, and immediately exercises significant control over key job decisions. Indirect influence or reserved authority no longer qualifies on its own.
2
Spells out which job decisions count
The bill lists the essential terms as hiring, firing, setting pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision, scheduling, assigning positions or tasks, and discipline.
3
Applies to union and bargaining cases
It amends the National Labor Relations Act so the narrower standard governs union organizing and collective-bargaining disputes.
4
Applies to wage and overtime cases too
It amends the Fair Labor Standards Act so the same control test governs minimum-wage and overtime claims, using that law's own definitions of employee and employer.
5
Limits hands-off liability
By requiring direct and immediate control, the bill makes it harder to treat a company as an employer based on contract terms, brand rules, or general business standards alone.
Who benefits from H.R. 4366?
Franchise owners
Local operators get a clearer line on when a national brand can — and can't — be pulled into workplace disputes involving their employees.
Franchisors and national brands
Brand companies gain a stronger defense against being treated as employers of workers they don't directly manage.
Businesses that use contractors and staffing firms
Companies relying on subcontracting or vendor relationships face lower odds of being tied to another company's employment decisions.
Employer groups and trade associations
They get a single, narrower federal rule that applies the same way across labor and wage cases — the predictability business groups have pushed for since 2014.
Who is affected by H.R. 4366?
Workers in franchise and contract-heavy jobs
They may have fewer ways to hold a larger company responsible when a smaller direct employer violates labor or wage laws.
Labor unions
Unions face a steeper path when trying to require a larger company to come to the bargaining table as a joint employer.
Workers suing over unpaid wages or overtime
Plaintiffs may find it harder to include a larger, better-funded company in a claim unless they can show direct, immediate control.
Staffing agencies and subcontractors
These firms may carry more of the legal responsibility themselves, since partner companies would be less likely to qualify as joint employers.
On the Record
What Congress Is Saying
13 legislators have weighed in on H.R. 4366 — 9 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
Mr. Speaker, I also include in the Record a January 13, 2026, letter from the Economic Policy Institute to Speaker Johnson. January 13, 2026. Re Opposition to H.R. 2988, Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act; H.R. 2270, Empowering Child and Elder Care Solutions Act; H.R. 4366, Save Local Business Act; H.R. 2312, Tipped Employee Protection Act; and H.R. 2262, Flexibility for Workers Education Act. Hon. Mike Johnson, Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
H.R. 4366 also appeared in 1 more House floor reference and 2 routine cosponsor filings.
HR4366 Legislative Journey
House: Passed
Jan 13, 2026
Rule H. Res. 988 passed House.
House: Committee Action
Jan 12, 2026
Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 988 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 2988, H.R. 2262, H.R. 2270, H.R. 2312 and H.R. 4366. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 2988 under a structured rule, and H.R. 2262, H.R. 2270, H.R. 2312, and H.R. 4366 under a closed rule. The rule provides for one hour of general debate and one motion to recommit on each bill.
House: Committee Action
Dec 30, 2025
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-422.
House: Vote: 20-16
Jul 23, 2025
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 20 - 16.
House: Committee Action
Jul 14, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
About the Sponsor
James Comer
Republican, Kentucky's 1st congressional district · 10 years in Congress
Committees: Oversight and Government Reform, Education and Workforce
View full profile →
Cosponsors (2)
No new cosponsors in 217 days — momentum stalled
All 2 cosponsors are Republicans. Cosponsors represent 2 states: Missouri, Oklahoma.
2Republicans·2 states
Committee Sponsors
Education and Workforce Committee
16D20R
|1 signed35 not yet1 of 36 committee members cosponsored
19 Republicans across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 4366 Quick Facts
Cosponsors
2
- Committee
- Education and Workforce
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Labor and Employment
- Introduced
- Jul 14, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Jan 13, 2026
Official Sources
Congress.gov — H.R. 4366 bill page
Official bill tracker with full text, cosponsors, actions, and committee referral status for the Save Local Business Act. Introduced July 14, 2025 by Rep. James Comer (R-KY).
H. Rept. 119-422 — Committee Report (GovInfo)
Full committee report from the Education and Workforce Committee, filed December 30, 2025. Documents the 20-16 markup vote, legislative history dating to 2014, and both majority and minority views on narrowing the joint-employer standard.
Education & Workforce Committee — Joint Employer landing page
The committee's dedicated page for joint employer legislation including the Save Local Business Act, with bill text, fact sheet, op-eds, and hearing materials.
Education & Workforce Committee — HR 4366 markup press release
July 23, 2025 press release announcing the committee passed HR 4366 alongside three other bills. Chairman Walberg described the legislation as 'protecting workers and small businesses from bureaucratic overreach.'
CRS Legal Sidebar: Joint Employment and the Save Local Business Act
Congressional Research Service analysis of the joint-employer standard and how the Save Local Business Act would override the Browning-Ferris framework by requiring direct, actual, and immediate control.
NLRB — Joint-Employer Status Final Rule (2023)
The NLRB's 2023 joint-employer rule that HR 4366 seeks to override legislatively. The rule was vacated by a federal court in March 2024, but the bill would codify a narrower standard in statute to prevent future regulatory shifts.
DOL — Fair Labor Standards Act overview
Department of Labor's main FLSA page. HR 4366 amends Section 3(d) of the FLSA (29 U.S.C. 203(d)) to apply the same narrow joint-employer test used in the NLRA amendment to minimum wage and overtime cases.
29 U.S.C. § 152 — NLRA definitions (Office of Law Revision Counsel)
The current statutory text of Section 2 of the National Labor Relations Act, which defines 'employer' — the exact provision HR 4366 would amend by adding the new joint-employer subsection.
Who is lobbying on H.R. 4366?
10 organizations lobbying on this bill
Total filings: 17
THE DONOHOE COMPANIES, INC. | 6 |
CITY OF HILLSBORO | 3 |
NATIONAL GRID | 1 |
SIFF & ASSOCIATES, PLLC (OBO THE MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA) | 1 |
SIGNATORY WALL AND CEILING CONTRACTORS ALLIANCE | 1 |
BERING STRAITS NATIVE CORPORATION | 1 |
ACORN CONSULTING ON BEHALF OF INTERNATIONAL FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION | 1 |
ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS | 1 |
AMERICAN HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION | 1 |
NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION | 1 |
Showing 1-10 of 10 organizations
H.R. 4366 Common Questions
If my wages come up short at a franchise, can I still go after the national brand?
It gets harder. Under H.R. 4366, the brand counts as your employer only if it directly, actually, and immediately controls things like your pay, hiring, or schedule. Setting brand rules isn't enough — that points liability at the local owner who runs your store.
What does "joint employer" actually mean?
It's when two companies are both treated as your employer, so both can be on the hook for wages, working conditions, or bargaining. Think a staffing agency and the company you're placed at, or a franchise owner and the national brand.
Which job decisions count toward making a company your boss?
The bill lists hiring, firing, setting pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision, scheduling, assigning your position or tasks, and discipline. A company has to directly and immediately control these — not just influence them — to be a joint employer.
Does H.R. 4366 cover unpaid overtime and minimum wage, or just union cases?
Both. The bill writes the same control test into the National Labor Relations Act (union and bargaining cases) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage and overtime). One standard applies across all of it.
How does this change union organizing?
If a larger company isn't a joint employer, a union generally can't force it to the bargaining table over workers it doesn't directly control. H.R. 4366 narrows when that larger company qualifies, which unions say makes it harder to bargain with the firm that really shapes the job.
Why do businesses and unions fight so hard over this standard?
Supporters say a clear, narrow rule shields franchise owners and small businesses from being dragged into disputes by the brands they partner with. Unions and worker advocates argue it lets large companies set the terms of a job while dodging responsibility for it.
Is H.R. 4366 law yet?
No. As of early 2026 it had been reported by the House Education and Workforce Committee on a 20-16 vote and cleared the Rules Committee for a possible floor vote. It would still need to pass the full House and the Senate before becoming law.
Based on H.R. 4366 bill text
H.R. 4366 Bill Text
“To clarify the treatment of 2 or more employers as joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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