Court Permanently Blocks DOL's Persuader Rule

To the relief of many employers that rely on third parties to provide labor advice and services, a Texas federal court has permanently blocked a rule that would have required them to make certain disclosures about their consultants to the Department of Labor. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Perez, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held that the DOL's "persuader" rule "should be held unlawful and set aside," and that the temporary injunction the court issued in June to prevent the DOL from enforcing the rule be made permanent. As a result of this permanent injunction, employers—at least for the foreseeable future—do not need to comply with the consultant disclosure requirements.