{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cramer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cramer-save-local-business-act-passes-house", "CRAMER: SAVE LOCAL BUSINESS ACT PASSES HOUSE", "2017-11-07", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "cramer.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Contact: Adam.Jorde@mail.house.gov\nWASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Kevin Cramer supported legislation today rolling back an Obama-era joint employer scheme that puts small businesses, particularly franchisees, in jeopardy.\nDecisions such as hiring, work schedules, and pay raises all take place between an employer and employee. However, in 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) intervened in the employer-employee relationship by putting direct liability on the employer for things that may occur by an independent contractor or franchisee. This new liability standard hurts working families and small businesses by blurring the lines of responsibility for decisions affecting the daily operations of local businesses across the country. Two or more employers can be considered joint employers for making a business agreement that \u201cindirectly\u201d or \u201cpotentially\u201d impacts their employees\u2019 day-to-day responsibilities and working environment. \n\u201cThis ambiguous standard leads to more uncertainty for small businesses and puts them at risk of legal liability over the actions of employees they have no direct control over,\u201d said Cramer. \u201cThis bill provides certainty and stability for employers and workers to ensure the little guy isn\u2019t pushed out of business and the American dream remains strong.\u201d\nThe Save Local Business Act (H.R. 3441) would define a joint employer as someone who exercises direct and immediate control of an employee\u2019s terms and conditions of employment under the National Labor Relations Act. The definition would also apply to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. All existing labor protections for workers remain under this legislation. \u00a0\u00a0\nAccording to the American Action Forum, the current joint employer scheme could result in 1.7 million fewer jobs.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cramer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cramer-save-local-business-act-passes-house"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.045389100909233, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}