Update: Revised Persuader Reporting Regulations One Step Closer To Reality

On Friday, December 21, 2012 the Administration published its regulatory agenda for the coming year.  The Administration usually publishes a Spring version but did not do so in 2012.  Among the several regulations in process, the  regulatory agenda notes that the U.S. Department of Labor's proposed narrowing of the 50 year interpretation of the "advice" exemption contained in the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act ("LMRDA") will reach final stages in April 2013. 

We previously detailed the changes here.  In a nutshell, the proposed persuader regulation would require, among other things, financial reporting for any situation where an outside party assists an employer with communication with its own employees.  The Department of Labor received several thousand comments and it is fair to say there hardly was a consensus over the need to change the regulations.  This lack of consensus also likely means there will be challenges to the new rule and we will be