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To provide a private right of action for persons harmed by violations of the Franchise Rule of the Federal Trade Commission, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill creates a private right of action allowing franchisees to sue franchisors who violate the Federal Trade Commission's Franchise Rule. Harmed franchisees could recover actual damages, rescission of contracts, and attorneys' fees through federal or state courts in their home state. The bill also prohibits franchisors from restricting franchisees' ability to associate with other franchisees or participate in trade associations, and from retaliating against franchisees for engaging in these activities. These provisions supplement the existing Franchise Rule with private enforcement mechanisms and new protections for franchisee collective action.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
4 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Janice D. Schakowsky’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $22,470
- STATE OF ILLINOIS $21,200
- STATE OF IL $13,250
- COONEY AND CONWAY $7,100
- JENNER & BLOCK $6,800
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Janice D. Schakowsky → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jul 22, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Jul 22, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2025
Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide a private right of action for persons harmed by violations of the Franchise Rule of the Federal Trade Commission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Franchisee Freedom Act”.
SEC. 2. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.
(a) In General.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person found to have committed any violation of part 436 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, or section 3 of this Act, shall be liable to any person harmed by such violation for—
(1) actual damages;
(2) additional equitable relief, including rescission of any contract and such other equitable relief as a court may find appropriate; and
(3) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
(b) Jurisdiction and Venue.—Jurisdiction and venue of a civil action under this section shall be concurrent and may be commenced in—
(1) the United States District Court in the district in which the claimant resides; or
(2) in a State court of competent jurisdiction in the State in which the claimant resides.
SEC. 3. RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION.
A franchisor may not, directly or indirectly, restrict a franchisee from associating with other franchisees or from participating in a trade association, including by retaliating against a franchisee for associating with other franchisees or participating in a trade association. <all>
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