Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)

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FORM LM-10 (EMPLOYER REPORTS) ADVISORY

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) requires employers to file a report annually with the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) if they engage in specific financial transactions or arrangements with a labor organization, labor organization officer or employee or representative, labor relations consultant, or others. The Form LM-10 was prescribed by the Secretary of Labor to report such transactions and arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions about Form LM-10

These questions and answers respond to inquiries received by the Department of Labor on Form LM-10 in a way that addresses broad issues raised by the public. The guidance describes the Form LM-10 requirements, provides for a de minimis exemption that can exclude from reporting payments of $250 or less, explains the steps employers should take if they have not maintained records relevant to the Form LM-10, and establishes a grace period during which employers will not have to file delinquent reports. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2005. If you have additional questions, you may wish to e-mail OLMS at olms-public@dol.gov.

Grace Period

Under a special enforcement policy and grace period, similar to the recent enforcement policy and grace period provided Form LM-30 (Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report) filers, new filers of Form LM-10 will not have to submit reports or maintain records for fiscal years beginning prior to January 1, 2005, even if such reports should have been filed. Specifically, in the interest of achieving greater compliance with the reporting requirements, the Department will not require a new filer to submit reports for any prior years absent extraordinary circumstances. The new filer must submit its report for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2005, on time, and without further direction by OLMS. For those who do not take advantage of this special enforcement policy, OLMS will continue to follow its normal practice, in which OLMS may seek reports for the five prior years.

"Extraordinary circumstances" under which OLMS may require a new filer to submit reports covering the same financial interest for previous years include: (1) existence of an ongoing investigation relating to the financial interest; and (2) evidence of egregious conflicts of interest, such as those that would constitute serious violations of section 302(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, 29 U.S.C. 186(a), or represent outright attempts to purchase official favors through cash or in-kind payments.

Advisory Regarding Filing of Forms LM-10 and LM-30 Due by March 31, 2006

Signing Form LM-10 When Records Have Not Been Maintained

Ordinarily, the Form LM-10 must be signed by the president and treasurer of the employer, be signed as to accuracy under penalty of perjury, and be filed within 90 days of the close of the employer's fiscal year.

Under the Department's new guidance, reports for fiscal years that have already begun need not be signed under penalty of perjury. In cases where an employer did not institute procedures for tracking and reporting payments based on a belief that the LMRDA did not apply to them, acts diligently and in good faith to identify the covered transactions, and prepares a report that discloses all the transactions revealed by its good faith inquiry, then the employer may strike out the "under-penalty-of-perjury" attestation and substitute modified language provided by the Department.

Under the Department's new guidance, reports for fiscal years that have already begun need not be signed by the employer's president and treasurer. The Department's new guidance recognizes that the president and treasurer may themselves have limited knowledge of the results of the good faith investigation. The Department recognized that the good faith search will be necessarily ad hoc, in contrast to records maintained contemporaneously through established internal procedures. Under these circumstances, the employers may authorize key officials in their organization who supervised or conducted the good faith search to sign the Form LM-10.

Signature level and modified attestation procedures apply only to fiscal years commencing on or before December 31, 2005. Reports for fiscal years commencing on or after January 1, 2006, are required to be signed with an unaltered attestation by the employer's president and treasurer or corresponding principal officers. See FAQ 66.

Except as specifically addressed above, employers must comport with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the LMRDA. Section 206 of the LMRDA requires all individuals who must file reports such as Forms LM-10 and LM-30 to maintain applicable records such as "vouchers, worksheets, receipts, and applicable resolutions" for a period of at least five years after such reports have been filed. 29 U.S.C. § 436.

More Information

• Download a blank Form LM-10 (PDF)
• Form LM-10 Instructions (PDF) (HTML)
• *Filling Form LM-10: An Overview of Reporting by Employers PowerPoint Presentation (PowerPoint Slide Show format - 1.87MB)

*If you are unable to view PowerPoint presentations, download a free viewer from Microsoft, here.

Last Updated: 01/07/08