labor lawAdivision of labor law center

 The US Department of Labor recently announced new rules to enhance union transparency. The rules will provide additional information on union spending, and combat embezzlement by union officials.

 

The DOL insists that the changes in union reporting rules are unrelated to recent convictions of union officials.

 

On May 12, the US DOL issued a notice of proposed rulemaking under the authority of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, or LMRDA. The law protects the access of labor union members to vital information, especially regarding union finances and spending.

 

The proposed rule will revise aspects of the Form LM-2, which is filed by unions with annual receipts of $250,000 or more. Currently about 4,600 unions meet that threshold.

 

The proposal also requires unions that have been found in violation of federal regulations to file the Form LM-2, even if they have less than $250,000 in receipts.  

 

The US DOL will continue to accept public comments regarding the new rules for 45 days beginning on Monday May 12. Comments may be made online, but must be received by June 26, 2008.

 

Under the new regulations, individual union officers and employees must disclose the amount spent on benefits. Indirect disbursements to officers and employees must also be reported – and itemized, if they total $5,000 or more. The buyer or seller must be disclosed in transactions involving union assets.

 

The new rules will also increase accountability for union officials. This comes in the wake of 7 criminal convictions and 9 indictments of union officials in April, 2008. Most of those cases involved embezzlement of union funds.

 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) recently  announced court orders of restitution totaling $225,615. The office’s totals for fiscal year 2008 (which began on Oct. 1, 2007) now stand at 59 convictions and 76 indictments. Sadly, most of the cases for the year also involved the embezzlement of union funds.

 

“OLMS investigations continue to result in indictments and successful prosecutions of individuals who abuse their union positions,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Standards Don Todd. “We remain fully committed to protecting union members against the criminal behavior of a small minority and to ensuring democratic elections and financial integrity and transparency within labor unions.”

 

OLMS is the federal law enforcement agency responsible for administering most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The agency’s criminal enforcement program includes investigations of embezzlement from labor organizations, extortionate picketing, deprivation of union members’ rights by force or violence, and fraud in union officer elections.

 

The OLMS civil program receives and publicly discloses unions’ annual financial reports, conducts compliance audits of labor unions and seeks civil remedies for violations of officer election procedures. In certain cases, OLMS also conducts joint investigations with other Labor Department agencies, including the Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Office of Inspector General, as well as other law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

“The proposed rule builds on the administration’s continuing commitment to transparency and accountability for corporations, pension funds and labor unions,” said Don Todd, deputy assistant secretary for the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). “This proposed rule provides union members with more complete information about union finances and will better protect their legal rights to transparency and accountability under the law.”

 

OLMS’s public disclosure Web site at www.unionreports.gov contains union annual financial reports and additional reports required to be filed under the LMRDA as well as copies of collective bargaining agreements.

Last 10 posts by Amelia

• Colorado Reduces Minimum Wage in 2010 - November 20th, 2009
• New Law Expands FMLA and NDAA for Military Families - October 30th, 2009
• California Approves Exempt Salary Reduction - October 16th, 2009
• 3 New Illinois Laws - October 9th, 2009
• New Definition of Disability - September 25th, 2009
• E-Verify Regulations - September 18th, 2009
• New USERRA Regulations - September 2nd, 2009
• E-Verify News - August 26th, 2009
• New Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law - August 19th, 2009
• Louisiana Minimum Wage - August 3rd, 2009