By Emily Estus | Right now, a House committee is putting together legislation to clarify a new legal standard holding corporations responsible to subcontracted (or franchise) employees, known as the “joint employer” rule. The current standard considers a corporation a “joint employer” with a contractor or franchise in terms of liability if they have direct, indirect, or reserved authority to control the terms and conditions of employment.

The Trump administration is working to unwind the controversial expansion of joint employer liability for businesses in franchise and other affiliated relationships, Vice President Mike Pence told a retail industry lobbying group July 18. … Critics say the decision—and moves to broaden joint employer liability under other federal and state laws—could change the way companies in franchise, staffing, and other contractual relationships do business by forcing them to take a more active role in labor issues.

By Trey Kovacs | As extremely partisan as Congress has become nowadays, there are glimmers of hope for agreement on reforms to help boost jobs and economic opportunity. Republicans, Democrats, and the business community should be able to all get on board with ideas that promote a higher-skilled workforce.

By Rep. Virginia Foxx (R, NC-05) | Far too often in Washington, D.C., when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. That certainly seemed to be the mindset of government bureaucrats during the Obama administration.

By Shannon Meade | Operating a small business successfully involves a number of challenges. Restaurant owners, for instance, enter into service contracts with staffing agencies, cleaning services, and the like in order to serve their guests well.