Flake, Alexander Introduce Resolution to Halt Big Labor-Backed Persuader Rule

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced S.J. Res. 35, a resolution that would permanently halt the implementation of a final Department of Labor (DOL) “persuader rule” which benefits Big Labor by arbitrarily placing costly and onerous mandates on small businesses that consult with attorneys or labor relations experts during union organizing drives. The overtly-biased rule would exempt labor unions from those mandates.

DOL’s persuader rule will cost businesses billions of dollars in compliance costs according to a former DOL chief economist. These costs will restrict the ability of businesses to access legal advice and limit the availability of information that workers need to make an informed decision on whether or not to join a union. The rule infringes on the right to free speech guaranteed under the First Amendment and is being challenged in federal courts.

“Eliminating this flawed rule will protect businesses from mandates designed to create an uneven playing field in favor of unions and will prevent yet another layer of economically-crushing regulatory burden on small businesses,” said Flake.

“First, the administration fast-tracked the union election process so that employers are now walking a tightrope of legal obligations and prohibitions at hyperspeed—and now the administration wants to discourage employers from getting any legal advice while they try to do this. The real loser will be the worker, who will be ambushed by a union election right as his or her employer is hamstrung by this rule – and the union will steamroll right over both of them,” said Alexander.

###