ABC, as part of a coalition representing more than 50 employer organizations, sent a letter Dec. 18 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) urging them to delay issuing the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final "persuader" rule until it finalized a rulemaking scheduled for later this year that will make significant changes to Form LM-21, which employers are required to file when they hire a persuader. The final “persuader” rule is currently under review at OIRA.

Specifically, the group noted that if the DOL finalizes its persuader rule without making the necessary changes to Form LM-21, it will: 

• create confusion for “persuaders” who will be forced to speculate as to what type of information must be recorded on Form LM-21;
• lead to duplicative costs as consultants will have to modify their reporting systems twice instead of once;
• lead to second-guessing by the Office of Labor-Management Standards as to what should be reported on Form LM-21; and
• obscure the true economic burden of the two proposals.

“The DOL’s proposed persuader advice exemption rule is so closely intertwined with DOL’s proposal to make changes to the yearly receipts and disbursement report (Form LM-21), that the two rulemakings should proceed concurrently, rather than separately as currently indicated,” the letter stated.

These concerns echo a February 2014 letter the coalition sent to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez that went into even greater detail about concerns the business community has regarding the persuader rule.