How Will Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Affect Franchises?

On Thursday, the White House announced sweeping new regulations requiring all companies with 100 or more employees to require vaccination against COVID-19 or weekly testing. As the New York Times points out, this mandate will affect two-thirds of the American workforce, including, no doubt, a large number of franchise brands. 

But what about those franchise brands whose individual units employ fewer than 100 employees while the franchise system at large exceeds that number? The answer, unfortunately, is no sure thing, as the government has historically shown confusion regarding how to categorize franchise brands. 

However, the Small Business Administration does list franchise brands in its directory, and individual units are generally regarded as independent businesses. That point became a contentious one last year when many larger franchise brands were accused of taking advantage of their unique categorization to secure PPP loans intended for smaller, less financially secure businesses.

The fact that franchise brands were eligible for PPP loans in the first place is a good sign for any franchise owner hoping to avoid the mandate, but the highly publicized backlash against the distribution of those loans may cause the SBA to take a different approach this time around. 

Businesses in every sector are still awaiting further answers regarding the mandate’s timeline and other key details, and the business community at large is at least partially split in its response to the new requirements, with some supporting the measure as a way to protect the economy from the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, and others bemoaning a government overreach they say will be difficult and costly to implement. 

According to the New York Times, roughly 53% of Americans are fully vaccinated. That number increased markedly in August as the Delta variant increased the U.S.’s average daily caseload to more than 150,000.