ASAP
OLMS Public Meeting Focuses on Proposed Changes to LMRDA Reporting and Disclosure Requirements
In addition, the agency suggested that the exception under Section 203(e), which excludes “regular officers, supervisors and employees” from the reporting obligation, should be narrowed to encompass more conduct than is currently considered reportable. The OLMS also indicated its desire to gather information on how the use of consultants has impacted labor-management relations and on how persuader activity has changed since enactment of the LMRDA.
A number of labor-affiliated hearing participants spoke in favor of such changes to the reporting and disclosure requirements. Participants from the business community, however, emphasized that narrowing Section 203’s advice exemption would adversely impact attorney-client communications and the free speech rights of employers.
Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Michael Eastman, the Chamber’s Executive Director of Labor Law Policy, expressed concern (pdf) that narrowing the advice exemption will make it more difficult for employers to obtain legal advice about labor relations and the National Labor Relations Act, which is “highly nuanced and near impossible for a layperson to understand without counsel.” Eastman also expressed concern with potential changes to Section 203(e) of the LMRDA:
The statute was designed to provide disclosure when employers engage third parties to interact with and persuade employees because employees may not otherwise know such individuals are agents of the employer – this is not true in the case of the employer’s supervisors, managers, and officers. The practical difficulties of accounting and reporting under the so-called split-income theory cannot be justified.
Other speakers echoed Eastman’s free speech and attorney-client privilege concerns.
Photo credit: Alex Nikada