Alexander: New Labor Department Rule Will Discourage Employers from Seeking Legal Advice

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 23 – Senate labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement after the Department of Labor released the final version of their proposed “persuader” rule:

“If you’re a small business owner and some of your employees just petitioned to form a union, there is a mountain of rules and regulations you must follow from the moment you receive notice of the petition. Now the administration, which just sped up the election process for employers and employees with the ambush election rule, has made a new rule to discourage employers from seeking the legal advice they need to fulfill their obligations.

“The Tennessee Bar Association says that this so-called ‘persuader’ rule will discourage lawyers from giving legal advice to employers due to confidentiality concerns, and the very fact that the employer had counsel will be misconstrued by union organizers. Instead of rolling out policies that seem intended only to boost organized labor, the Labor Department should instead focus on ways to grow our economy and get more Americans back to work. I will be reviewing the final rule and working in the Senate on ways to prevent this rule from causing harm to America’s workplaces.”

The new rule will require employers who receive guidance from lawyers or labor consultants to file reports to the Labor Department that they have, for example, been advised by a lawyer on what to say to their employees in a speech.

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For access to this release and Chairman Alexander’s other statements, click here.