MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With today’s decision by a Federal Court in Texas granting a nationwide injunction to block the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing a rewrite of the “persuader rule” that was poised to go into full effect July 1, attorneys with Worklaw® Network – which filed a separate federal lawsuit in Minnesota against the DOL on this matter – applauded the ruling and vowed to continue pushing forward with their own parallel case in Minnesota to help cement this Texas victory.
Today’s victory in Texas was the result of a lawsuit filed by the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Home Builders and other organizations. It is one of three separate lawsuits challenging the DOL’s new rule.
“Employers across America – both small and large – are celebrating today’s decision, because it stops the government’s illegal implementation of a bad rule, and protects employers’ right to seek counsel and get advice on sensitive and complicated labor matters,” said Millicent Sanchez, president of the Worklaw® Network and a partner at Swerdlow Florence Sanchez Swerdlow & Wimmer. “The Texas decision is a nationwide injunction, which is an important step as Worklaw® continues pushing for victory in our own lawsuit against the government.”
In a decision on the Worklaw® lawsuit on June 22, Judge Patrick J. Schiltz of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota criticized the rule’s “incoherence” and its “flawed premise.” He added: “The Court therefore concludes that plaintiffs have a strong likelihood of success on their claim that the new rule conflicts with the plain language of the statute.”
After a multi-year controversy, the DOL issued in March its “reinterpretation” of the persuader rule that will burden American businesses with sweeping disclosure and paperwork requirements, while undermining attorney-client confidentiality and privilege protections. Worklaw® Network filed its lawsuit to protect American companies – particularly smaller employers – from this arbitrary overreach. Several state attorneys general filed a brief in support of the Worklaw® lawsuit, as did key business groups.
If not stopped by the nationwide injunction granted today, the DOL’s new interpretation would have forced vast numbers of employers, attorneys and consultants to disclose confidential information – including the nature of conversations, copies of representation agreements, the amounts of fees paid, and other details – about employment, labor and HR-related legal matters. If not stopped, the rule would have chilled employer free speech, employee free choice and effective attorney and consultant advice.
Worklaw® Network’s lawsuit was filed on March 31, 2016 against the U.S. Department of Labor and Secretary Thomas Perez over the Interpretation of the “advice exception” in Section 203(c) of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, 29 USC 433(c). Worklaw® Network is a nationwide affiliation of independent law firms practicing management-side labor and employment law, with member firms, attorneys or affiliates in 27 U.S. states. More details are available at www.worklaw.com.