DOL to Seek Public Input on Persuader Rule

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced it will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind a rule that would have required employers and labor-management consultants to report consultants’ indirect contact with workers during union organizing campaigns. The NPRM will be published in the Federal Register and be open for public comment on June 12. The public may submit comments, identified by RIN 1245-AA07, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received will be posted without change to the site. The public inspection copy of the NPRM can be viewed on the Federal Register’s website at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/06/12/2017-11983/interpretation-of-the-advice-exemption-in-the-labor-management-reporting-and-disclosure-act. Commonly referred to as the “Persuader Rule,” the regulation was published in March 2016. In November of that year, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide permanent injunction against the rule. More information is available on the Office of Labor-Management Standards website, https://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/ecr_finalrule.htm.