U.S. Department of Labor to Increase Voluntary Compliance Partnership Program with International and National Labor Unions

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) will continue to invest in its Voluntary Compliance Partnership (VCP) program with 43 prominent international and national labor unions throughout the country to help strengthen the compliance performance of approximately 16,000 intermediate and local labor union affiliates.

OLMS VCP staff will meet with international and national union staff to exchange information and strategize on how to best help affiliated local unions achieve compliance with the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA).

The VCP program focuses on mutually beneficial objectives to drive innovation, specifically increasing timely reporting, using the OLMS Electronic Forms System, ensuring protection of members' dues, and promoting best practices under the LMRDA.

"The Voluntary Compliance Partnership program is a collaborative framework through which we have built a strong five-year track record," said Office of Labor-Management Standard's Voluntary Compliance Director Lorenzo Harrison. "During this period delinquency rates amongst Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act filers have improved by almost eight percentage points. We're now reaching out to additional national and international unions to expand our efforts."

OLMS administers and enforces most provisions of the LMRDA. The LMRDA promotes union democracy and financial integrity in private sector labor unions through standards for union officer elections and union trusteeships and safeguards for union assets. Furthermore, the LMRDA promotes labor union and labor-management transparency through reporting and disclosure requirements for labor unions and their officials, employers, labor relations consultants, and surety companies. Additional information is available at www.dol.gov/olms.

The Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI) is part of the Department of Labor's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, and fosters a compliance assistance culture within the Department designed to complement its ongoing enforcement efforts. This Office focuses on helping enforcement agencies more effectively use online resources to deliver information and compliance assistance to help the American people. In August 2018, OCI launched Worker.gov and Employer.gov to provide information about workers' rights and the responsibilities of job creators toward their workers.