WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — The Department of Labor’s new union persuader rule violates business owners’ First Amendment rights, making it nearly impossible to consult with legal counsel when facing union organizing, said the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today.
“Once again, the administration is rigging the game in favor of workplace unionization,” said NFIB Small Business Legal Center Executive Director Karen Harned. “The DOL is putting small employers at a profound disadvantage.
“Unions pay people whose full-time job is to organize workers,” she continued. “Small employers have businesses to run. They don’t have in-house lawyers or compliance officers to guide them through the process or navigate the complicated rules governing union organizing.”
Ed Brady, chairman of NAHB and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill., said that the rule is fundamentally unfair because it requires employers to report to the DOL whether and when they consult with a lawyer to discuss union organizing. The unions, on the other hand, aren’t encumbered by any such requirement.
“DOL’s final persuader rule is another example of regulatory overreach that will impose far-reaching reporting requirements on employers and their consultants and result in significant monetary and legal implications for home building firms,” said Brady. “This lawsuit is necessary to maintain long standing policy on what union-related communications between employers and attorneys remain confidential.”
NFIB and NAHB joined the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Association of Builders and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce late yesterday in filing a lawsuit against the DOL in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division. The business groups maintain that the rule violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech and right of association. Also, according to the plaintiffs, the rule violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).
Previously, owners were only required to report when outside counsel directly communicated with employees. Under the new rule business owners will have to report any communication with legal counsel even if the matter ends there. The persuader rule will take effect on July 1, 2016.
For more information about NFIB please visit www.nfib.com.
For more information about NAHB please visit www.nahb.org.
CONTACTS
Elizabeth Thompson
202-266-8495
