Executive Summary: On March 23, 2016,
the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final version of its
"persuader rule," which requires employers, third-party
lawyers and other labor consultants to disclose to the DOL any
arrangement to persuade employees directly or indirectly concerning
the right to organize or bargain collectively. These reports
must be filed electronically and, once filed, become publicly
available records.
Almost five years after it published the proposed rule, the DOL
has finally announced that it is adopting "the proposed rule,
with modifications, [providing] increased transparency to workers
without imposing any restraints on the content, timing, or method
by which an employer chooses to make known to its employees its
positions on matters relating to union representation or collective
bargaining." The rule is scheduled to take effect on April 25,
2016, and will apply "to arrangements and agreements as well
as payments (including
