The Department of Labor (DOL) this week proposed a revised rule to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act that would require employer and labor consultants to disclose agreements with employees about the right to organize or collectively bargain, a rule that has come under attack by the American Hospital American (AHA).
Currently, employers and labor relations consultants must report agreements or arrangements with employees about their right to organize and bargain, but they do not have to report if they give "advice" to employees. If enacted, the new rule would expand the interpretation of what is exempt from reporting, that is, what constitutes "advice," according to the DOL proposed rule.
"The definition of what triggers reporting in the proposed rule is so confusingly broad that it could include the AHA's distributing general information and other resources to help our hospital members educate their boards, managers and employees about union organizing," said AHA Assistant General Counsel Lawrence Hughes.
The rule is open for comment until Aug. 22.
For more:
- read the AHA news brief
- check out the DOL rule (.pdf)
Related Articles:
Hospitals feel the squeeze of growing number of nursing strikes
Pay practice violations: DOL looks at meal breaks, other overtime issues