Office of Labor-Management Standards 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) Office of Labor- Management Standards (OLMS) of the Department of Labor publishes this final rule to establish a form to be used by labor organizations to file trust annual financial reports (Form T-1) and to provide appropriate instructions and revise relevant portions of 29 CFR Part 43 relating to such reports. On March 4, 2008, the Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking setting forth the Department's Form T-1 proposal. Under the proposal, certain labor organizations would file annual reports about certain trusts to which they contributed money or otherwise provided financial assistance or over which they exercised managerial control. This document sets forth the Department's review of and response to comments on the proposal. This final rule requires that a labor organization with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more file a Form T-1 for each trust of the type defined by section 3(l) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) and that meets one of the two following filing triggers: The labor organization, alone or with other labor organizations, either: Appoints or selects a majority of the members of the trust's governing board; or makes contributions to the trust that exceed 50 percent of the trust's receipts during the trust's fiscal year. This final rule provides five exemptions to the Form T-1 filing requirements: A political action committee (PAC) fund, if publicly available reports on the PAC fund are filed with federal or state agencies; any political organization for which reports are filed with the IRS under section 527 of the IRS code; trusts required to file a Form 5500 under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); federal employee health benefit plans that are subject to the provisions of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act (FEHBA); and any trust for which an independent audit has been conducted, in accordance with the standards set forth in this final rule. This final rule will apply prospectively.

The Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration (``ESA'') proposes to: make several revisions to the current Form LM-2 (used by the largest labor organizations to file their annual financial reports) that will provide additional information on Schedules 3, 4, 11 and 12, clarify reporting under certain functional categories and add itemization schedules corresponding to categories of receipts; and establish a procedure and standards by which the Secretary of Labor may revoke a particular labor organization's privilege to file a simplified annual report, Form LM-3, where appropriate, after investigation, due notice, and opportunity for a hearing. The proposed changes are made pursuant to section 208 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (``LMRDA''). The proposed rule will apply prospectively.

The Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration (``ESA'') proposes to promulgate a rule that establishes a form to be used by labor organizations to file trust annual financial reports with ESA's Office of Labor-Management Standards (``OLMS''), provides appropriate instructions, and revises relevant sections of 29 CFR Part 403 relating to such reports. The proposed changes are made pursuant to section 208 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (``LMRDA''), 29 U.S.C. 438. The proposed rule will apply prospectively.