The Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have announced they will advance two controversial proposals in 2014.
The Labor Department said it will issue its “persuader” final rule in March, which narrows long-standing reporting exemptions for employers and labor relations experts and redefines “advice,” in March. DOL released the date in its its recent regulatory agenda.
If the rule is finalized, it will greatly expand the circumstances in which third party advice, used by employers to educate their employees about collective bargaining, would have to be reported by both the employer and the third party. Third parties include attorneys and association staff. As the proposal is currently written, the disclosure requirements also include money paid for these services.
Several groups oppose the rule, saying it would deprive employers of their right to free speech, freedom of association and legal counsel, and would deprive employees of their right to obtain balanced and informed input from both sides as they decide whether to be represented by a union.
The DOL's persuader rule is designed to work with the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule that would shorten the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place. The NLRB included the issue in their recent regulatory agenda.
The rules have been at issue since December 2011 when the NLRB issued the “ambush” election rule that would have reduced the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place, from the current average of around 40 days to as few as 17 to 20 days. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with other groups, filed a legal challenge, arguing the rule was adopted without statutorily required quorum of NLRB members. Earlier this week, NLRB dropped its appeal, and will revisit the issue early in 2014.
Subscribe to Updates
NATSO provides a breadth of information created to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the needs of the travelling public in an age of disruption. This includes knowledge filled blog posts, articles and publications. If you would like to receive a digest of blog post and articles directly in your inbox, please provide your name, email and the frequency of the updates you want to receive the email digest.
