Sam Olens part of two coalitions supporting NFIB positions.
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens has joined with more than a dozen other states to push back against two harmful anti-business issues, both of which NFIB has engaged in. Here’s a look at the problems Attorney General Olens has taken action on.
Union Persuader Rule
Olens joined a 13-state coalition with other attorneys general to fight against the Department of Labor’s persuader advice exemption rule, which would significantly hinder small businesses’ ability to consult with a lawyer on labor issues. Under this rule, lawyers and law firms would be forced to disclose their work, including all fees and arrangements, for all clients seeking counsel on labor relations matters. This move would undermine the longstanding protection over the confidentiality of attorney-client communications and place an unfair burden on small business owners, who are the ones who need to hire outside counsel because they cannot afford to keep an attorney on staff. If this rule is enacted, it’s likely that many lawyers will stop taking on the clients—small businesses—who come to them for labor relations counsel.
The DOL announced its final draft of this rule on March 23, and it was scheduled to go into effect at the end of April. On April 1, NFIB joined the National Association of Home Builders and other business groups to file a lawsuit against the DOL for the persuader rule. On April 22, NFIB asked a U.S. District court to temporarily block the rule until the lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is settled.
Supreme Court Nominee
Attorney General Olens also joined 19 other AGs in opposing President Obama’s nomination of DC Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.
In the AGs’ letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Charles Grassley, they wrote, “[Nominating a replacement for Justice Scalia] at this time, while we are in the midst of a heated battle for the presidency, undermines the American people’s confidence in their judicial branch by depriving them of a say in the selection of Justice Scalia’s replacement.
“The American people deserve to have their voice heard in this process. That is why we applaud you for exercising the Senate’s constitutional right to advise and consent, and giving the American people a voice in the selection of their next Justice.”
Nationwide, NFIB’s opposition to Judge Garland’s nomination—the first weigh-in on a Supreme Court nomination—has been well-publicized. NFIB has done significant research on Judge Garland’s record, including putting together a scorecard on his rulings, which were against business 90 percent of the time.
