Federal Court Strikes Down Department of Labor Persuader Rule

Last week, Judge Samuel R. Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) "persuader" advice rule is "unlawful." This latest development ends DOL's ability to implement the rule. Judge Cumming’s decision comes on the heels of his ruling back in November issuing a permanent injunction on the same rule. The injunction and summary judgment, sought in part by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace or CDW (of which NRMCA is a member), is a huge win for industry. Specifically, the summary judgment request was sought by 10 separate states, the National Federation of Independent Business, Texas Association of Business, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Home Builders and Texas Association of Builders. The persuader rule, which NRMCA was ardently opposed to, aimed to limit employers’ ability to seek and retain legal counsel for purposes of consulting on employee union organizing drives. The rule also would have required employers and legal counsel to disclose certain financial and other unnecessary private company information.