Tag Archives for " DOL "
Right Now May be the Best Time Ever to Join CUE
Not a Joiner? Maybe you should be… 
It’s Friday, but I might be able to make your day a little brighter!
There is a big piece of breaking news related to the DOL persuader rule. It’s not all completely clear right now, but several sources including the US Chamber of Commerce are reporting, and the DOL seems to be confirming that any agreement related to so-called “persuader” services including legal, consulting and association services that are in place prior to July 1st will NOT BE subject to reporting under the new requirements.
>>>>>Join CUE here
The excerpt below is from a status report filed by DOL in the Arkansas challenge to the new LRMDA requirements, the , pertinent part which is excerpted below:
On March 24, 2016, the Department of Labor’s (“the Department”) Office
of Labor-Management Standards published a rule entitled “Interpretation
of the ‘Advice’ Exemption in Section 203(c) of the Labor-Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act,” 81 Fed. Reg. 15924 (“the Rule”). While
the effective date of the Rule is April 25, 2016, the rule is only applicable
to arrangements and agreements made on or after July 1, 2016, and to
payments made pursuant to arrangements and agreements entered into on
or after July 1, 2016. 81 Fed Reg. 15924. The Rule revises the reporting
requirements, and related recordkeeping requirements, for certain
agreements and arrangements entered into between employers and labor
relations consultants or other independent contractors, and payments made
pursuant to those agreements and arrangements. The Department will not
apply the Rule to arrangements or agreements entered into prior to July 1,
2016, or payments made pursuant to such arrangements or agreements.
Consequently, under the Rule no employer, labor relations consultant, or
other independent contractor will have to report or keep records on any
activities engaged in prior to July 1 that are not presently subject to
reporting, or file the new Forms LM-10 or LM-20 (revised pursuant to the
Rule) for any purpose prior to July 1.
NOTE: THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE. BE SURE TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE ON THIS MATTER BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION!!!
You Keep Using That Word…
From the Director – I’ve got Orlando on my mind!
This post is a preview of the CUE newsletter coming your way on Friday.
It’s May, and everyone at CUE is getting ready to head for Orlando for our big Spring show, so we’ll be sending a double-size bonus newsletter for you on Friday since we won’t be printing another newsletter until May 27th. 
I’m really excited about the agenda we have put together for this show. I reviewed a bunch of the presentations over the weekend and was blown away by the content our speakers have put together for you.
The conference content is focused on three distinct areas, all of which are timely and strategic. Our sessions will cover practical labor relations for employers in the new labor environment; improving communications with your workforce; and research proven advice on improving workforce engagement.
Word of the Week – Engagement
We have nearly 400 registered attendees, and this is shaping up to be the one of the largest CUE events ever. Register here.
Did You Miss Our Webinar? 
ICYMI – Did you miss our latest webinar, CUE and the Persuader Rule – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly presented by Phil Wilson of Labor Relations Institute?
We’re sorry you weren’t able to attend, but you can listen to the webinar recording and get the slide deck at the links below.
Phil Wilson and Doug Seaton will be covering the latest updates on the Persuader Rule, including any possible court decisions on an injunction at the Orlando CUE Conference on May 16th.
Watch the Recording | Download the Presentation (member login required)
Breaking: New Persuader Rule To Drop Any Day
The Persuader Rules are Coming 
Paul Revere is famous for his ride through the night and crying out — “The British are coming! The British are coming!”
Chicken Little is famous (and fictional) for running around screaming – “The sky is falling! The Sky is falling!”
For the past five years, on and off – labor relations professionals have been hearing someone write “The Persuader Rules are coming! The Persuader Rules are coming!”
It looks like that story may finally come to an end, and move into a new phase. Politico Morning Shift is reporting that the Persuader Rules that have been sitting with OMB are days away from being released.
The Labor Department proposed the persuader rule in 2011 but didn’t for some reason get around to submitting it to the OMB for review until this past December. The rule is expected to narrow – or eliminate entirely – the “advice exception” that allows consultants and lawyers to avoid disclosure provided they don’t communicate directly with employees at a given worksite. Expect a big fight on this one from the American Bar Association, which has already said it intrudes on attorney-client privilege.
We offered a webinar from Phil Wilson and Doug Seaton for CUE members last week previewing what you need to know right now to get ready for this new rule.
The Sky is Not Falling
It’s going to be complicated. It’s going to be litigated. It’s going to be a pain for employers to deal with.
It’s also important to keep things in perspective. Paul Revere was right, but Chicken Little was wrong. The sky is not falling.
These rules are NOT the end of the world as we know it. Employers are still going to work with their employees to build great workplace relationships. You will still need to train your supervisors and update your handbooks. Life goes on
It’s just a new reporting requirement that you need to prepare and plan for. All the information below this line can help you do just that.
5 tips from Phil Wilson
Here are 5 steps you should take to prepare for the final persuader rule:
- Make sure your leaders understand what is about to happen. Nobody other than us labor nerds are paying any attention to this rule. I also get the whole “chicken-little problem” of getting excited (again) about a rule that’s been getting punted for years. Just take my word for it, that’s not what it looks like now. Your top leaders won’t actually pay attention to this until it goes final, at which point they will wonder why you weren’t warning them about it. Now’s your chance to look like the genius you are. Let us know if we can help – we do briefings like this for clients all the time.
- Inventory all your potential trigger relationships. The list of potential trigger events is long, and you won’t have a lot of time to figure them out when the final rule gets announced. Give yourself a 30-day head start. Even if a few of the trigger areas change there is no harm done in doing an inventory of these different relationships. You may find some you don’t need or others you can consolidate. That’s a proactive step that is high value to your organization independent of the rule.
- Talk to your vendors about their reporting plan. Once you inventory these relationships talk to each vendor about their plan for reporting. Have they ever reported before? Do they plan to report? If not, do you agree that they shouldn’t (I would carefully question someone who says this rule doesn’t apply to them). Do they plan to continue providing the service if they come under the rule? You really don’t want to get blindsided by having a key vendor who had been helping you for years suddenly decide they are getting out of any reportable activity.
- Figure out your own reporting plan. Who is going to be in charge of monitoring these reporting requirements? How will you know whether one has triggered (for example, if someone attends a labor relations seminar how will you know)? What is your reporting system for the 30-day and year end reports? How is that going to be coordinated with your vendors?
- Keep up to date. You are already well on your way by subscribing to our newsletter. We will send out a breaking news when this hits and will do a webinar a few days later explaining any differences between the proposed rule and the final version. Make sure to stay alert for those announcements.
Access to Information on the DOL Persuader Rule
If you need a copy of the Persuader Rules proposed by DOL in 2011, you can access them here. Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act: Interpretation of the Advice Exemption.
You can access copies of the slide deck and the audio from the webinar by logging into the CUE member portal and going here.
If you are not a CUE member but would like more information on the persuader rule, email Michael at director@cueinc.com.