U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Labor-Management Standards
Cleveland District Office
1240 East 9th Street, Suite 831
Cleveland, OH 44199
(216) 357-5455 Fax: (216) 357-5425




August 10, 2012

Ms. Patricia Viers, President
AFGE Local 1148
PO Box 13296
Columbus, OH 43213
Case Number:
LM Number: 501145


Dear Ms. Viers:

This office has recently completed an audit of under the Compliance Audit Program (CAP) to determine your organization’s compliance with the provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), 5 U.S.C. 7120, and the Department's regulations, 29 CFR 458. As discussed during the exit interview with you, Treasurer Andy Utz, and John Blaine on January 19, 2012, 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.

Reporting Violations

Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. Section 458.3, the requirement under 29 C.F.R. Section 402.4 implementing LMRDA Section 201(a) is made applicable to labor organizations subject to the requirements of the CSRA. This provision requires labor organizations to file copies of any revised constitution and bylaws when it files its annual financial report. The audit disclosed a violation of this requirement. Local 1148 amended its constitution and bylaws in 2002, but did not file the required copies with its LM report for that year.

Local 1148 has now filed a copy of its constitution and bylaws.

Other Violations

The audit disclosed the following other violation:

Inadequate Bonding

Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. Section 458.35, officers and employees of any labor organization subject to the CSRA are required to be bonded in accordance with Section 502(a) of the LMRDA. This provision requires that union officers and employees be bonded for no less than 10% of the total funds those individuals or their predecessors handled during the preceding fiscal year.




Local 1148’s officers and employees are currently bonded for $60,000, but they must be bonded for at least $66,683. Based on your assurance that Local 1148 will obtain adequate bonding, OLMS will take no further enforcement action at this time regarding the above violations.

I want to extend my personal appreciation to AFGE Local 1148 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,

Investigator


cc: Andy Utz, Treasurer