A new study from the International Franchise Association has bad news for employees of small businesses struggling to transition to the post-Obamacare world.  According to the study, over 1/3 of America’s 9.1 million full-time franchise jobs could be either cut back or eliminated entirely, thanks to Obamacare.

The Washington Examiner has more:

The threat of hitting 3.2 million full-time workers as the Affordable Care Act takes effect next year is prompting the owners of fast food restaurants, service companies and other franchises to urge Congress to make significant changes in Obamacare.

To help their cause, the association on Friday released a newstate-by-state breakdown on the potential impact on jobs in the bull’s eye of Obamacare, which declares that a 30-hour week is full-time, not the industry accepted 40 hours. That 10-hour difference has thousands of franchise owners scrambling to either fund healthcare for those working 30 hours, or cut hours back to below 30 hours.

“The ACA has made health care an inextricable cost of running a small business in America and continues to evolve with regard to its cost and complexity for franchisees and franchisors as the law becomes fully implemented ahead of 2014,” said IFA Senior Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy Judith Thorman. “Preparing your franchise business to deal with the ACA should be a top priority for franchisees and franchisors.”

To see the impact Obamacare will have on your state’s franchise businesses, click here.