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November 4, 2008    DOL Home > ESA > OLMS > CA > LMRDA > Public Disclosure   

Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)

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ESA OFCCP OLMS OWCP WHD
The Office of Labor-Management Standards ensures union democracy, transparency, and financial integrity.

Public Disclosure Under the LMRDA

This pamphlet is designed to assist anyone who wishes to examine or obtain copies of reports filed under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). These reports, described below, must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) by private sector labor unions, union officers and employees, employers, labor relations consultants, and surety companies. The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) requires most federal sector labor organizations to file the labor organization reports described in this pamphlet.

Examining or Obtaining Reports

Disclosure Requests via the Internet - Anyone with a computer and Internet connection can view and print copies of actual union annual financial reports, employer and labor relations consultant reports, and union officer and employee reports for year 2000 and later in pdf format. Union annual financial reports are searchable by a variety of criteria, including union name, file number, affiliation, designation name and number, and location. The OLMS Internet Public Disclosure Room is located online.

The Internet Public Disclosure Room also features a powerful union data search system. Step-by-step instructions guide users through selecting the unions to be included in the search, the time period covered by the report, which data will appear on the report, and how the report data will be sorted. Users may also conduct searches on union officers and employees, either by union or by name of the officer or employee. Enabling users to define the scope of searches and to determine how the results are presented results in customized reports tailored to users' specific needs.

Users may also purchase copies of union information reports, union annual financial reports (regardless of the year filed), union constitutions/bylaws, employer reports, consultant reports, and union officer and employee reports from the Internet Public Disclosure Room.

Other Disclosure Requests - Any person may examine reports and related documents free of charge at the OLMS public disclosure room in Washington, DC. Copies of reports and constitutions and bylaws may also be purchased. To make requests by mail, telephone, fax, or in person, see page 3 for contact information.

Information Needed - Requestors should identify the type of report wanted and the complete name of the reporting organization or individual. For union reports, requestors should provide as much identifying information about the union as possible including the union's affiliation (such as the International Factory Workers); its designation name and number (such as Local 100); the time period covered by the report (such as fiscal year ending June 30, 20__); the city and state where located; and, if known, the 6-digit file number assigned to the union by OLMS.

Cost of Copies -Reports cost 15 cents a page; requests for 30 or fewer pages are provided free of charge. Copies of reports may be picked up in person and may be paid for by check or money order made payable to the "U.S. Department of Labor/OLMS." Reports not picked up in person will be mailed to the requestor along with a bill listing the charges. Arrangements can be made for OLMS to respond to small requests by fax.

Union Reports

Unions are required to file a report containing, among other things, basic identifying information within 90 days after the date on which the union first became subject to the LMRDA or CSRA.

Form LM-1 information reports disclose the union's name, affiliation, mailing address, fiscal year, membership fees and dues, and constitution and bylaws provisions governing specific aspects of its activities. The initial information report also includes copies of a reporting union's constitution and bylaws.

The initial Form LM-1 must be filed within 90 days after the date on which the labor organization first became subject to the LMRDA or CSRA. Thereafter, a union updates its initial Form LM-1 by filing an amended Form LM-1 as necessary with its annual financial report to disclose changes in the practices or procedures which are not contained in the union's constitution and bylaws. A union must also file copies of any amended constitution and bylaws. Copies of collective bargaining agreements are not required to be filed with OLMS.

Note: When requesting a union's Form LM-1, the requestor should indicate whether the union's initial Form LM-1 (which may have been filed as early as 1959) or the union's most recent amended Form LM-1 is desired.

Annual Financial Reports - Unions must file one of three types of annual financial reports based on the total annual receipts of the union. The annual financial reports vary in the level of detail which must be reported and must be filed within 90 days after the end of the labor organization's fiscal year.

Form LM-2 is the most detailed report. Unions with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more ($200,000 or more for fiscal years beginning before July 1, 2004) and subordinate labor organizations held in trusteeship must file Form LM-2.

Form LM-3, a less-detailed report, may be filed by unions (that are not in trusteeship) with total annual receipts of less than $250,000 (less than $200,000 for fiscal years beginning before July 1, 2004).

Form LM-4, an abbreviated report, may be filed by unions with annual financial receipts of less than $10,000 (if not in trusteeship).

Simplified annual financial reports may be filed by parent body unions on behalf of subordinate labor organizations with no assets, liabilities, receipts, or disbursements and which meet certain other conditions.

Union Trusteeship Reports

Trusteeship reports are filed by parent body unions on behalf of subordinate labor organizations held in trusteeship.

Form LM-15 initial trusteeship reports, filed after trusteeships are imposed, disclose the reason(s) the trusteeship was imposed, the date it was established, and the trusteed union's financial condition at the time it was placed in trusteeship. Form LM-15 semiannual trusteeship reports, filed after each 6-month period following imposition of a trusteeship, disclose the reason(s) for its continuance.

Form LM-16 terminal trusteeship reports, filed after trusteeships are lifted or terminated, disclose the termination date and the names, titles, and method of selection of the officers of the formerly trusteed union. A terminal trusteeship financial report, which details the financial condition of the formerly trusteed union at the time of the termination of the trusteeship, must also be filed on Form LM-2.

Form LM-15A reports must be filed with Form LM-15 or LM-16 whenever, during the period covered by the report, the parent body union held either a convention to which the trusteed union sent delegates (or would have if not in trusteeship) or an election of its officers.

Other Reports

Other reports and documents available from OLMS are filed by organizations and individuals, usually on a "one-time" or "as necessary" basis, to disclose specific activities made reportable by LMRDA requirements.

Form LM-10 employer reports must be filed by employers who engage in certain specified financial dealings with their employees, unions, union agents, and labor relations consultants, or who make expenditures for certain purposes relating to employee or union activity.

Form LM-20 and Form LM-21 consultant reports must be filed by persons who make agreements or arrangements with employers to persuade employees about exercising their rights to organize and bargain collectively or to obtain information about employee or union activity in connection with a labor dispute involving an employer.

Form LM-20 agreement and activities reports must be filed to disclose each such agreement or arrangement. Form LM-21 receipts and disbursements reports are filed by each person who received payments for any arrangement requiring the filing of a Form LM-20.

Form LM-30 labor organization officer and employee reports must be filed by union officers or employees (except clerical or custodial) if they, their spouses, or minor children had any interest, transaction, income, or benefit under specific conditions to disclose possible conflicts of interest.

Form S-1 surety company reports must be filed by such companies for each year in which they had a bond in force insuring any union or trust in which a union is interested under the LMRDA, or a welfare or pension plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

OLMS Public Disclosure Room

The OLMS public disclosure room maintains disclosure files for all reporting organizations and individuals. Its resources may be accessed online at www.union-reports.dol.gov or Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the following address:

U.S. Department of Labor
ESA/OLMS, Room N-1519
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210-0001

(202) 693-0125 (voice) or (202) 208-2904 (fax)

OLMS Assistance

Additional information about the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act or the Civil Service Reform Act may be obtained from OLMS field offices.

Another OLMS publication, Reports Required, contains more detailed information concerning required reports and the circumstances when each one must be filed, when it is due, required signers, and other basic information. A copy of Reports Required is available online. Copies of Reports Required and other OLMS publications are available at any OLMS office.

Last Updated: 10/13/05

 



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