Associated Builders and Contractors of Arkansas, et al. v. Perez, et al. (Department of Labor)

Case Updates

The U.S. Chamber urged the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas to invalidate the Department of Labor's (“DOL”) so-called “persuader rule,” which chills attorney-client communications in the labor relations context. The Chamber's two amicus briefs (available here and here) explain how the DOL’s new persuader rule is a sharp departure from well-established and longstanding interpretation, will impose substantial compliance costs, and raises serious constitutional questions regarding employers’ statutory and constitutional right to seek advice on how to communicate with their employees. Of greatest concern, the briefs argue, the DOL’s new interpretation of the advice exemption in the LMRDA threatens to expose thousands of lawyers, law firms, and companies to potential criminal liability for failure to abide by an exceedingly vague interpretation of the LMRDA. This case is one of three cases challenging DOL’s persuader rule in which the Chamber has filed an amicus brief.

Jess Askew III of Kutak Rock LLP and Adam G. Unikowsky of Jenner & Block LLP served as counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.