WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 15, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, released a new White Paper titled, “Direct Assault on Main Street: Looming Labor Threats That Could Decimate Small Businesses and Their Workforce.” The paper explores the bipartisan labor policy threats facing small businesses and their workforce.

“Congress is considering bipartisan policy proposals that would directly threaten small businesses and their workforce,” said Dylan Rosnick, NFIB Principal of Federal Government Relations and the white paper’s lead author. “These anti-small business policies would significantly increase government involvement in the daily operations of small businesses, add to the weight of harmful mandates, and raise the costs of hiring and keeping qualified employees. It’s time for lawmakers in Washington to stop using small businesses as political pawns and instead let them grow and flourish without heavy-handed government regulations.”

The paper highlights seven federal policy proposals that threaten Main Street businesses:

• The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 20 / S. 852)
• The Warehouse Worker Protection Act (H.R. 4896 / S. 2613)
• The Faster Labor Contracts Act (S. 844)
• Minimum Wage Hikes
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s 2024 Proposed Heat Standard
• The Department of Labor’s 2024 Independent Contractor Rule
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s 2024 Worker Walkaround Rule

View the full paper here.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.