Our own Phil Wilson commented in an article by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) about the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announcing a final rule requiring federal contractors that use persuaders—consultants or attorneys who inform employees about all the possible effects of unionization as part of union avoidance—to publicly identify themselves as doing so by checking a new box on the LM-10 form. Employers must file the form to disclose certain specified financial dealings, including the use of persuaders.
In the article, Phil noted, “The only explanation for this rule is to make it easier for contractors to face negative PR for engaging a persuader during a campaign, in spite of the fact that this is lawful speech protected by both Section 8(c) [of the National Labor Relations Act] and the First Amendment. It is certainly designed to chill protected speech,”
