U.S. Department of Labor announces plan to reduce delinquency
in labor union reporting

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a plan to reduce delinquent reporting among labor unions that are required to submit annual financial disclosure forms to the department. Every labor organization representing private sector employees is required to file a report with the department within 90 days of the end of its fiscal year, or further enforcement action will then be pursued. Each year, however, 30 to 40 percent of unions fail to submit their reports on time, and in some instances reports remain outstanding for over one year.

"Online reporting for organized labor unions through the LM-2 process has been a blessing to union members across the nation who can see first-hand from a desktop how their funds are being spent," said Don Todd, the deputy assistant secretary responsible for the Employment Standards Administration's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) within the Labor Department. "This new delinquency program is just another step to protect transparency for America's workers."

The department's effort to reduce this delinquency will focus on approximately 1,275 unions whose reports are over one year past due, including 118 of the largest unions, which are required to file the electronic Form LM-2. These unions should have filed financial disclosure forms for their fiscal years ending in 2005, with the reports due no later than March 31, 2006. The department intends to send warning letters to all of the covered unions and, after 30 days, the names of those unions that have not filed will be posted on the OLMS Web site at www.olms.dol.gov. Further enforcement action then will be pursued, including referral to local U.S. attorneys for civil or criminal enforcement.

The effort is part of the department's commitment to financial transparency for union members. Extensive compliance assistance is regularly provided for labor organizations required to file with the department. This initiative will better protect America's workers by ensuring fuller compliance with the financial reporting requirements under the law.

OLMS administers and enforces most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, which was enacted primarily to ensure basic standards of democracy in labor organizations representing employees in private industry. Currently, all filed LM-2 reports are available at www.unionreports.dol.gov.

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.