81 FR 20245 - Interpretation of the “Advice” Exemption in Section 203(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Labor-Management Standards

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 67 (April 7, 2016)

The Office of Labor-Management Standards of the Department of Labor (``Department'') published a final rule on March 24, 2016. The final rule revises the Form LM-20 Agreement and Activities Report and the Form LM-10 Employer Report, which are filed with the Department pursuant to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). In the final rule, the Department revises its interpretation of the advice exemption in section 203(c) of the LMRDA to better effectuate section 203's requirement that employers and their labor relations consultants report activities undertaken with an object, directly or indirectly, to persuade employees about how to exercise their rights to union representation and collective bargaining. The revised interpretation provides employees with important information that would enable them to consider the source of the information about union representation directed at them when assessing the merits of the arguments and deciding how to exercise their rights. The Department has also revised the forms and instructions to make them more user-friendly and to require more detailed reporting on employer and consultant agreements. Additionally, with this rule, the Department requires that Forms LM-10 and LM-20 be filed electronically. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Department of Labor announces that the Office of Management and Budget has approved the information collection requirements contained in the final rule.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20245-20246]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07883]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of Labor-Management Standards

29 CFR Parts 405 and 406

RIN 1215-AB79; 1245-AA03


Interpretation of the ``Advice'' Exemption in Section 203(c) of 
the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

AGENCY: Office of Labor-Management Standards, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Final rule; OMB approval of information collection 
requirements.

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[[Page 20246]]

SUMMARY: The Office of Labor-Management Standards of the Department of 
Labor (``Department'') published a final rule on March 24, 2016. The 
final rule revises the Form LM-20 Agreement and Activities Report and 
the Form LM-10 Employer Report, which are filed with the Department 
pursuant to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). 
In the final rule, the Department revises its interpretation of the 
advice exemption in section 203(c) of the LMRDA to better effectuate 
section 203's requirement that employers and their labor relations 
consultants report activities undertaken with an object, directly or 
indirectly, to persuade employees about how to exercise their rights to 
union representation and collective bargaining. The revised 
interpretation provides employees with important information that would 
enable them to consider the source of the information about union 
representation directed at them when assessing the merits of the 
arguments and deciding how to exercise their rights. The Department has 
also revised the forms and instructions to make them more user-friendly 
and to require more detailed reporting on employer and consultant 
agreements. Additionally, with this rule, the Department requires that 
Forms LM-10 and LM-20 be filed electronically. In accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Department of Labor announces that 
the Office of Management and Budget has approved the information 
collection requirements contained in the final rule.

DATES: On March 25, 2016, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved under the Paperwork Reduction Act the Department of Labor's 
information collection request for requirements in 29 CFR parts 402-406 
and 408-409, including the employer and labor relations consultant 
reporting requirements in Parts 405 and 406, as published in the 
Federal Register on March 24, 2016. See 81 FR 15924. The current 
expiration date for OMB authorization for this information collection 
is March 31, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Davis, Chief, Division of 
Interpretations and Standards, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 
U.S. Department of Labor, at (202) 693-0123 (this is not a toll-free 
number).
    This document is available through the printed Federal Register and 
electronically via the http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html Web site.
    Copies of this document may be obtained in alternative formats 
(Large Print, Braille, Audio Tape or Disc), upon request, by calling 
(202) 693-0023 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TDD callers may dial toll-
free (877) 889-5627 to obtain information or request materials in 
alternative formats.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Congress enacted the Labor-Management 
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), to provide for the 
disclosure of information on the financial transactions and 
administrative practices of labor organizations. The statute also 
provides, under certain circumstances, for reporting by labor 
organization officers and employees, employers, labor relations 
consultants, and surety companies. Section 208 of the LMRDA authorizes 
the Secretary to issues rules and regulations prescribing the form of 
the required reports. The reporting provisions were devised to 
implement basic tenets of the LMRDA: To protect the rights of employees 
to organize and bargain collectively, as well as the guarantee of 
democratic procedures and safeguards within labor organizations, which 
are designed to protect the basic rights of union members. Section 205 
of the LMRDA provides that the reports are public information.
    On March 24, 2016, the Department published a final rule that 
revised the Form LM-20 Agreement and Activities Report and the Form LM-
10 Employer Report. See 81 FR 15924. The final rule was based upon 
comments received in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') 
published on June 21, 2011. See 76 FR 37292. In the NPRM, the 
Department proposed to revise its interpretation of the advice 
exemption in section 203(c) of the LMRDA to better effectuate section 
203's requirement that employers and their labor relations consultants 
report activities undertaken with an object, directly or indirectly, to 
persuade employees about how to exercise their rights to union 
representation and collective bargaining. Under the prior 
interpretation, reporting was effectively triggered only when a 
consultant communicated directly with employees. This interpretation 
left a broad category of persuader activities unreported, thereby 
denying employees important information that would enable them to 
consider the source of the information about union representation 
directed at them when assessing the merits of the arguments and 
deciding how to exercise their rights. The Department proposed to 
eliminate this reporting gap. The final rule adopts the proposed rule, 
with modifications, and provides increased transparency to workers 
without imposing any restraints on the content, timing, or method by 
which an employer chooses to make known to its employees its position 
on matters relating to union representation or collective bargaining. 
The final rule also maintains the LMRDA's section 203(c) advice 
exemption and the traditional privileges and disclosure requirements 
associated with the attorney-client relationship. The Department has 
also revised the forms and instructions to make them more user-friendly 
and to require more detailed reporting on employer and consultant 
agreements. Sections of the Department's regulations have also been 
amended consistent with the instructions. Additionally, with this rule, 
the Department requires that Forms LM-10 and LM-20 be filed 
electronically. This rule largely implements the Department's proposal 
in the NPRM, with modifications of several aspects of the revised 
instructions as proposed.
    The Department's final rule includes information collection 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Specifically, the 
final rule requires information collections for employers on the Form 
LM-10 Employer Report and labor relations consultants on the Form LM-20 
Agreement and Activities Report, pursuant to LMRDA section 203, 29 
U.S.C. 433. These forms are included, along with the other LMRDA forms, 
within OMB Control Number 1245-0003. As discussed in the preamble to 
the final rule, the Department submitted the information collections 
contained therein to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on 
February 25, 2016 for approval. See 81 FR 16003. On March 25, 2016, OMB 
approved the Department's information collection request under Control 
Number 1245-0003, thus giving effect to the information collection 
requirements contained in the final rule published in the Federal 
Register on March 24, 2016. The current expiration date for OMB 
authorization for this information collection is March 31, 2019.

    Dated: March 30, 2016.
Michael J. Hayes,
Director, Office of Labor-Management Standards.
[FR Doc. 2016-07883 Filed 4-6-16; 8:45 am]
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