The Clock Is Ticking…Private Sector Employers Face June 30 Deadline to Avoid New Reporting Requirements
The Department of Labor recently issued a rule imposing new reporting requirements on private sector employers who engage attorneys or consultants to persuade employees concerning the right to organize and collectively bargain. Employers who have entered into an agreement for labor relations services before July 1, 2016 are exempt from the reporting requirement, even if the need for services arises after July 1.
The prior “persuader” rule requires both employers and labor relations consultants (including attorneys) to report to the DOL only when they engage in persuasive communications directly with employees regarding the right to organize a union or bargain collectively. The rule’s long-standing “advice exemption” has generally exempted consultants and attorneys from the reporting requirements when they have simply provided “behind the scenes” guidance to employers (e.g., drafting speeches and letters directed to employees by management to dissuade employees from unionizing).
In the new rule, which takes effect July 1, 2016, the DOL narrows the “advice exemption” by broadening the reporting requirements to include activities undertaken by a consultant or attorney, even when there is no direct contact or communication with employees, where the object of the activity is to persuade employees concerning the right to organize and collectively bargain.
The new DOL rule has triggered numerous legal challenges throughout the country by employers and business associations. One of the principal objections is that the new reporting requirements essentially eviscerate the attorney-client privilege between the employer and its labor relations attorney.
Contact any of our labor and employment attorneys to discuss this time-sensitive issue.