I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4109 
To ensure that an employment relationship is not established between a 
franchisor and a franchisee if the franchisor engages in certain activities, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2021 
Mrs. WALORSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To ensure that an employment relationship is not established 
between a franchisor and a franchisee if the franchisor 
engages in certain activities, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protections for Socially 
Good Activities Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONSHIP.—The term 
‘‘employment relationship’’ means any type of joint 
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employer relationship, single employer relationship, 
or other employment-related status or relationship 
under any of the laws described in section 3(b). 
(2) 
FRANCHISEE.—The 
term 
‘‘franchisee’’ 
means a franchisee, as defined— 
(A) in section 436.1(i) of title 16, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the day be-
fore the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(B) under an applicable State franchise 
law. 
(3) 
FRANCHISOR.—The 
term 
‘‘franchisor’’ 
means a franchisor, as defined— 
(A) in section 436.1(k) of title 16, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the day be-
fore the date of enactment of this Act; or 
(B) under an applicable State franchise 
law. 
SEC. 3. SAFE HARBOR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of each law de-
scribed in subsection (b), none of the following may be 
construed, alone or in combination with any other factor, 
as establishing an employment relationship between a 
franchisor (or any employee of the franchisor) and a 
franchisee (or any employee of the franchisee): 
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(1) The franchisor (or any employee of the 
franchisor) provides the franchisee (or any employee 
of the franchisee) with, or requires the franchisee 
(or any employee of the franchisee) to use, a hand-
book, or other training, on sexual harassment, 
human trafficking, workplace violence, discrimina-
tion, or opportunities for apprenticeships or scholar-
ships policies. 
(2) The franchisor (or any employee of the 
franchisor) requires the franchisee (or any employee 
of the franchisee) to adopt a policy on sexual harass-
ment, human trafficking, workplace violence, dis-
crimination, or opportunities for apprenticeships or 
scholarships, childcare, and paid leave policies in-
cluding a requirement for the franchisee (or any em-
ployee of the franchisee) to report to the franchisor 
(or any employee of the franchisor) any violations or 
suspected violations of such policy. 
(3) The franchisor (or any employee of the 
franchisor) requires the franchisee (or any employee 
of the franchisee) to adopt a policy based on the 
novel coronavirus (referred to in this paragraph as 
‘‘COVID–19’’) pandemic such as the use of personal 
protective equipment or other policies, or the 
franchisor (or any employee of the franchisor) pro-
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vides the franchisee (or any employee of the 
franchisee) with personal protective equipment or 
other material goods or compensation to help the 
franchisee (or any employee of the franchisee) dur-
ing or due to the COVID–19 pandemic. 
(b) LAWS.—The laws described in this subsection are 
each of the following: 
(1) The National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 
(2) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 201 et seq.). 
(3) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 
1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 
SEC. 4. PREEMPTION. 
Except with respect to the definitions of the terms 
‘‘franchisee’’ and ‘‘franchisor’’ under section 2, this Act 
shall preempt any State law to the extent that such State 
law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. 
Æ 
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