Update: Final Revision to Form LM-10

Form LM-10 Employer and Forms LM-20 and LM-21 Labor Relations Consultant Reporting under the LMRDA

Related Information

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) establishes reporting and recordkeeping requirements for employers and labor relations consultants.  The transparency created by these requirements is designed to better inform workers in making determinations regarding the exercise of their rights to organize and bargain collectively.  For example, with the knowledge that the source of the information received is an anti-union campaign managed by an outsider, workers will be better able to assess the merits of the arguments directed at them and make an informed choice about how to exercise their rights.

Under LMRDA section 203(a), an employer must report, on Form LM-10, subject to exemptions, certain expenditures and activities, including any expenditure where an object thereof, directly or indirectly, is to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their collective bargaining rights, or to obtain information concerning the activities of employees or a labor organization in connection with a labor dispute involving such employer.

Further, the employer must report, on Form LM-10, any agreement or arrangement with a third-party consultant to persuade employees as to their collective bargaining rights or to obtain certain information concerning the activities of employees or a labor organization in connection with a labor dispute involving the employer.  Under LMRDA section 203(b), a labor relations consultant, also, is required to report, on Form LM-20, concerning such an agreement or arrangement with an employer.  This requirement is subject to an exemption in section 203(c) of the LMRDA, which states, in part, that no one is required to file a report covering the services of a consultant "by reason of his giving or agreeing to give advice" to the employer.

Every person required to file a Form LM-20 also must file an annual Form LM-21 Receipts and Disbursements Report, if any payments were made or received during the fiscal year as a result of arrangements of the kind requiring Form LM-20.

These reporting requirements are subject to certain exemptions, which provide, in part, that an employer is not required to file a report covering the services of a consultant or other person by reason of giving or agreeing to give advice to such employer, or supplying the employer information solely for administrative, arbitral, or court proceedings. Whether any particular service is properly characterized as “advice” and is thus exempt from reporting is a fact-driven question. In applying that exemption, a usual indication that an employer-consultant agreement is exempt is the fact that the consultant has no direct contact with employees and limits his or her activity to providing to the employer or its supervisors advice or materials for use in persuading employees which the employer has the right to accept or reject. See OLMS Interpretative Manual Section 265.005 (Scope of the “Advice” Exemption). In contrast, an agreement is reportable when the consultant has direct contact with employees with an object to persuade them, or when the consultant directs the persuader actions of line supervisors or similar management officials after having been authorized by the employer to do so.

Additionally, under LMRDA section 203(a), an employer must report on Form LM-10, subject to certain exemptions, certain specified financial dealings with unions and union officials and agents (see the Form LM-10 FAQ for further information).  Similarly, labor union officers and employees (other than exclusively clerical or custodial employees) must report on the Form LM-30 concerning certain interests held in, payments received from, and transactions with employers. See the Form LM-30 Labor Organization Officer and Employee Reporting page. Such disclosure makes public any actual or likely conflict between the personal financial interests of union officers or employees and their obligations to the union and its members, as well as exposes any potential employer domination or interference with the union.

The Forms LM-10, 20, and 21 must be filed electronically pursuant to the OLMS Electronic Forms System (EFS). The Forms LM-10 and 21 are annual reports, filed within 90 days after the conclusion of the filer’s fiscal year.  The Form LM-20 must be filed within 30 days of the consultant entering into a reportable persuader agreement with an employer.  OLMS makes all submitted reports publicly available on the OLMS Public Disclosure Room.

Employer Reporting (Form LM-10)

Labor Relations Consultant Reporting (Form LM-20 and Form LM-21)

          (Note: OLMS has issued a Special Enforcement Policy covering certain sections of the Form LM-21.)

EFS Information

Help for the Electronic Forms LM-10, LM-20, or LM-21

Additional Information

Contact Information

Notice: Advisory on Union Officer Elections and Public Disclosure Reporting in Areas Affected by COVID-19 and Natural Disasters

 

Last Updated: 10-17-24