On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the Department of Labor’s “persuader” rule. The nationwide injunction prevents DOL “on a national basis from implementing any and all aspects of [DOL’s persuader rule] pending a final resolution of the merits of this case or until a further order of this Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit or the United States Supreme Court.”
We expect the Department of Labor to appeal this ruling but for the immediate future the DOL is prohibited from enforcing the new rule beginning July 1.
We will continue to provide updates as they become available. In the meantime, while you no longer need to have an executed representation agreement on file with labor counsel by July 1, 2016, there is no harm in continuing to be proactive by signing a letter with your current labor counsel.