After years in regulatory limbo, the Department of Labor's
final revisions to the so-called "persuader" rule have
moved one step closer to publication. On December 7, the
DOL's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) submitted the
final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is
the final step before the rule can be published in the Federal
Register. Although the DOL's regulatory agenda had
estimated this rule would be published in March 2016, given the
OMB's traditional review timetable, the measure could be
released even earlier in 2016. If the final rule resembles the
proposal issued in 2011, it will have a significant impact on
employers.
The rule in its proposed form broadens 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. For
decades, this advice exemption excluded from the
