LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced that her request to enjoin the U.S. Department of Labor’s Persuader Advice Exemption Rule was granted; the rule has now been blocked from moving forward nationwide.
Rutledge led a 10-state coalition, along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to oppose the rule.
“This is a big win for small businesses in Arkansas and across the country,” Rutledge said. “With the court’s decision, employers will not be jeopardized by having to disclose confidential advice from attorneys needed to lawfully and appropriately respond to organizing campaigns or collective bargaining demands. Job growth and economic development will be protected by having this injunction in place. I commend the court for taking this important step, and I am confident that this rule will ultimately be found unlawful.”
The rule would force the disclosure of confidential information between small businesses and their counsel in matters related to labor relations. This would be a reversal of how the department has operated for half a century. The attorneys general who opposed the rule believed it would put an undue burden on small businesses.
A federal district court in Texas granted the nationwide injunction as part of the National Federation of Independent Business v. Perez case. Rutledge and Paxton joined the case with the support from attorneys general from Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.