Known as the “Persuader Rule,” the amendment reinterprets the original Act’s “advice exemption,” which stated that arrangements between employers and their lawyers or consultants didn’t have to be disclosed as long as said lawyers or consultants didn’t communicate with employees.
Starting July 1, any arrangement or payment with an attorney or third party regarding employees’ union-organizing activities must be disclosed to the DOL, as well as made public. The move is widely seen as a big win for organized labor.
Opponents of the new rule insist it will infringe on the all-important attorney-client privilege and give unions that are attempting to organize non-union shops a leg up in the process. Both sides expect the rule to be challenged in federal court before it takes effect.