WASHINGTON - For more than half a century, complying with the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) had been fairly easy for employers. That may change under a rule the U.S. Department of Labor has nearly finalized, Workforce.com reports.

The regulation would make employers file intricate and comprehensive disclosure reports with the agency when receiving "advice" from labor relations experts. "We now believe that the department??s current interpretation of the advice exemption may be overbroad, and could sweep within it agreements and arrangements between employers and labor consultants that involve certain persuader activity that Congress intended to be reported under the LMRDA," said the Labor Department.

The LMRDA??s "advice" exception had been interpreted in the broadest sense. But two years ago, the department proposed narrowing the advice exception because the previous reading resulted in "underreporting" of such activity. The proposed rule makes no distinction between indirect and direct activity, lumping "all actions, conduct or communications that have a direct or indirect object to persuade employees" together and reportable.

As soon as April, the agency could finalize the rule for the Office of Management and Budget??s review. "We believe that the [proposed rule] is way too broad," said Michael Lotito, who co-chairs the Workplace Policy Institute at Littler Mendelson. The expansion of the reporting obligation, "intrudes into the confidentiality between lawyer and client," said Lotito.

He added that HR managers will have no guidance as to what "advice" means. "They're going to have to decide whether a particular interaction is reportable," said Lotito. "A lot of this is not necessarily advice."