U.S. Department of Labor Releases the Office of Labor-Management Standards’ Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report of Performance and Activities

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) has released its annual fiscal year summary of its performance and program activities in its 2020 Annual Report today. OLMS administers and enforces most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA).

The 2020 report describes OLMS’ actions and accomplishments including the following:

• A total of 61 criminal indictments and 69 convictions as well as $3,886,997 in restitution paid or ordered for payment to labor organizations and their members;
• How OLMS exceeded its financial integrity goal to increase the audit-to-criminal case fallout rate, a measurement of OLMS’ effectiveness in choosing which unions to audit and how often audits produce embezzlement investigations;
• An update on OLMS’ new Form T-1, for use by labor organizations to report annual financial information on trusts in which they are interested. The form is likely to detect and deter corruption on the part of labor organization, trust and employer officials;
• Details on key civil enforcement and performance results, reporting and disclosure data, and program activity, together with noteworthy union officer election case summaries;
• A summary of grant certification activity related to the Section 13(c) program, which ensures fair and equitable arrangements protecting mass transit employees, as required by the Federal Transit Act; and
• A review of compliance assistance activities conducted in FY 2020, an area affected by a reduction in the number of compliance seminars due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since FY 2004, OLMS has prepared and posted an Annual Reports for each fiscal year. The FY 2020 report is its 17th Annual Report.

OLMS administers and enforces most provisions of the LMRDA, which promote union democracy and financial integrity in private sector labor unions through standards for union officer elections, union trusteeships, and safeguards for union assets. The LMRDA also 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.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.