U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Labor-Management Standards
New Haven Resident Investigator Office
Giaimo Federal Bldg.
150 Court Street, Suite 209
New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 773-2130 Fax: (203) 773-2333
May 27, 2010
Mr. Gerald Marotti, President/Sec-Treas
Bricklayers LU 1
17 N. Plains Industrial Rd
Wallingford, CT 06492 Case Number: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LM Number: 540629
Dear Mr. Marotti:
This office has recently completed an audit of Bricklayers LU 1 under the Compliance Audit Program (CAP) to determine your organization’s compliance with the provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). As discussed during the exit interview with you on May 25, 2010, the following problems were disclosed during the CAP. The matters listed below are not an exhaustive list of all possible problem areas since the audit conducted was limited in scope.
Record Keeping Violations
Title II of the LMRDA establishes certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Section 206 requires, among other things, that labor organizations maintain adequate records for at least five years by which each receipt and disbursement of funds, as well as all account balances, can be verified, explained, and clarified. As a general rule, labor organizations must maintain all records used or received in the course of union business.
For disbursements, this includes not only original bills, invoices, receipts, vouchers, and applicable resolutions, but also documentation showing the nature of the union business requiring the disbursement, the goods or services received, and the identity of the recipient(s) of the goods or services. In most instances, this documentation requirement can be satisfied with a sufficiently descriptive expense receipt or invoice. If an expense receipt is not sufficiently descriptive, a union officer or employee should write a note on it providing the additional information. For money it receives, the labor organization must keep at least one record showing the date, amount, purpose, and source of that money. The labor organization must also retain bank records for all accounts.
The audit of Local 1’s 2009 records revealed the following recordkeeping violation:
Officer and Employee Expenses
Union officers and employees failed to maintain adequate documentation for reimbursed expenses, and for expenses charged to union credit cards. The date, amount, and business purpose of every expense must be recorded on at least one union record. In addition, the names of individuals present for meal expenses and the locations (names of restaurants) where meal expenses were incurred must be recorded.
Credit card slips supporting the November and December 2009 Mastercard disbursements for Business Representative/Vice President Todd Dexter were missing from the union records. BR Dexter could not find the missing slips when advised they were not in the local’s folder.
Occasional credit card slips for other Business Representatives, mainly receipts for gas purchases, were also missing from the union records.
Credit card slips should be annotated with sufficient information (persons attending, description of business meeting purpose, etc) so that the union business of the expense is clear.
As agreed, provided that Local 1 maintains adequate documentation as discussed above in the future, no additional enforcement action will be taken regarding this violation.
I want to extend my personal appreciation to Bricklayers LU 1 for the cooperation and courtesy extended during this compliance audit. I strongly recommend that you make sure this letter and the compliance assistance materials provided to you are passed on to future officers. If we can provide any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
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Investigator
cc: Mr. Timothy Palmeri, Exec VP