Posts tagged NFIB
Mamdani creates new DSA-inspired office to help NYC workers unionize: ‘Concerning for small business’
September 9, 2026 // The office will hold hearings on “worker issues” and develop policy proposals based on testimony from employees. It will also give out information about workers’ rights and help connect employees interested in starting unions with organizations that can help them, City Hall said. Tony Perlstein, a former dockworker, union organizer and deputy director of communications for the national lefty organizing group Center for Popular Democracy, will run the office. It’s not clear if anyone else will be hired to staff the office, or how much its budget will be. Perlstein will report to Mamdani’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, previously a cabinet official under President Joe Biden.
‘Delivery Protection Act’ Pits NYC Mayor Mamdani And The Teamsters Against Amazon
August 17, 2026 // Opposition comes from a broad-based business coalition—Amazon, FedEx, logistics and trucking firms, all five borough chambers of commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Tech: NYC, the Supply Chain Federation, the Trucking Association of New York, the Five Borough Jobs Campaign and others. A study commissioned by the Five Borough Jobs Campaign estimated passage would increase annual delivery costs to New York households by $664 and threaten more than 10,000 city workers. With the bill pending a City Council vote, supporters have intensified their efforts to push the vote forward after Mayor Mamdani threw his support behind it—calling Amazon’s contractor-based delivery model exploitative and a danger to NYC workers, drivers and pedestrians.
Minnesota Small Businesses Challenge Independent Contractor Statute
March 25, 2026 // NFIB joined a coalition of business organizations in filing a lawsuit in Minnesota state court challenging the new independent contractor test that was passed in 2024 as part of the Jumbo Omnibus Bill, H.F. 5247. The statute enacts a rigorous fourteen-factor test for determining the classification of independent contractors and imposes extreme financial and criminal penalties for even well-meaning small businesses should they fail to comply. J&M Consulting
U.S. Senators Unveil Bills to Strengthen Workers’ Rights
November 12, 2025 // F. Vincent Vernuccio, President, Institute for the American Worker. “Together, these bills reflect a modern approach to labor relations — one that trusts workers, promotes transparency, and ensures the law is applied fairly. The committee, led by Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), deserves credit for advancing a balanced package that empowers American workers and strengthens freedom in the workplace.”
Rhode Island Employer-Sponsored Meetings Ban Law Now in Effect
August 25, 2025 // The new law prohibits employers from holding mandatory worker meetings to explain what unionizing will mean for the business from an employer’s perspective. This also means labor organizers will have an unchallenged narrative on unionization. Identical laws in Connecticut, Minnesota, and other states face legal challenges citing the law is superseded by the National Labor Relations Act as well as federal labor law precedent. Rhode Island’s new law is likely to face a similar challenge, something NFIB and other organizations warned when lawmakers considered these bills
Workers striking by choice could lose unemployment benefits in blue states under GOP proposal
July 20, 2025 // Legislation targets policies in Oregon, Washington, New York and New Jersey that provide financial support during strikes The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla.; Mike Kelly, R-Pa.; Blake Moore, R-Utah; Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas; Greg Murphy, R-N.C.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.; and Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas. The governors of both Oregon and Washington signed laws earlier this year allowing for striking workers to receive unemployment benefits.
Employer Free Speech on the Ballot in Alaska
October 10, 2024 // The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects such meetings, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized their legality and importance in helping employees gather information on potential union representation. As a result, even if the referendum were to pass, a court would likely find it unlawful. Alaska’s referendum also increases the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027 and provides at least 40 hours of paid sick leave to many workers.
Illinois bans companies from forcing workers to listen to their anti-union talk
August 2, 2024 // U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business are challenging similar laws in other states. The groups say the laws are a violation of the First Amendment, denying employers their right to free speech, and are also in conflict with the National Labor Relations Act, which protects an employer's communications with employees as long as they do not contain threats of reprisals or promises of benefits.
Frisard’s Transportation v. Department of Labor
June 26, 2024 // And the rule affects far more than the 350,000 owner-operator truckers that operate across the nation. It will affect 70 million freelancers in industries across the country, pushing them towards an employment status when 80% of them want to be independent. Similar legislation in California led to a loss of over 10% of freelancers. With the help of the Pelican Institute, Frisard’s has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor, arguing that the new rule is arbitrary and exceeds the department’s statutory authority. The company asserts that the rule undermines the certainty businesses and independent contractors need to operate efficiently and is inconsistent with the Fair Labor Standards Act and precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit.
Businesses blast new Biden rule allowing union reps to inspect job sites
May 23, 2024 // The National Federation of Independent Businesses, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, are helping lead the charge against the new “walkaround” rule, which takes effect May 31 of this year. “Small businesses want to create a safe work environment for their employees, and they understand the necessity of reasonable mandates and inspections to this end,” Beth Milito, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, said in a statement. “But the final rule issued by OSHA goes beyond ‘reasonable’. This rule will allow unlimited third-party individuals to initiate and then join an inspection of a private workplace under the guise of representing the employees. Not only does this violate a small business owner’s private property rights, it will not advance worker safety. It only makes small businesses susceptible to harassment from competitors, union representatives, and other parties intending to cause harm.”