Associations Press For More Logical Persuader Rulemaking Process

With the DOL's persuader rule nearing final publication, 90 trade associations representing millions of employers sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Friday asking that the rulemaking be returned to the DOL and consolidated with a separate proposal. The persuader advice exemption rule, which was sent to the OMB earlier this month, seeks to broaden the scope of an employer's reporting obligations under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) by substantially narrowing the "advice exemption" in Section 203(c) of the LMRDA. In essence—using the proposed rule language as a guide—employers would need to disclose any agreements with third parties for advice or services that "directly or indirectly" could be used to persuade employees regarding their right to join a union. A separate rule proposes to make changes to Form LM-21, which the persuader uses to report employer receipts related to the labor advice given. According to