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October 31, 2004    DOL Home > ESA > OLMS > CA > LMRDA > Public Disclosure

Public Disclosure Under the LMRDA

This pamphlet is designed to assist anyone who wishes to examine or obtain copies of reports filed under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA). These reports, described below, must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) by private sector labor unions, union officers and employees, employers, labor relations consultants, and surety companies. The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) requires most Federal sector labor organizations to file the labor organization reports described in this pamphlet. (Unions composed solely of state and local government employees are not required to file these reports.)


Examining or Obtaining Reports

Disclosure Requests via the Internet - Anyone with a computer and internet connection can view and print copies of actual union annual financial reports and employer and labor relations consultant reports for year 2000 and later in pdf format. These reports are searchable by a variety of criteria, including union name, file number, affiliation, designation name and number, and location.

The Internet Public Disclosure Room also features a powerful union data search system. Step-by-step instructions guide users through selecting the unions to be included in the search, the time period covered by the report, which data will appear on the report, and how the report data will be sorted. Users may also conduct searches on union officers and employees, either by union or by name of the officer or employee. Enabling users to define the scope of searches and to determine how the results are presented results in customized reports tailored to users' specific needs.

Users may also purchase copies of union information reports, union annual financial reports (regardless of the year field), union constitutions/bylaws, employer reports, and consultant reports from the Internet Public Disclosure Room for 15 cents per page. Requests for 30 or fewer pages are provided free of charge.

The OLMS Internet Public Disclosure Room is located at http://www.union-reports.dol.gov.

Other Disclosure Requests - Any person may examine reports and related documents, including union constitutions and bylaws, free of charge at the OLMS public disclosure room in Washington, DC, or at OLMS field offices for reporting organizations and individuals within each office's geographic jurisdiction. Copies of reports and constitutions and bylaws may also be purchase. Requests may be submitted in person, by mail, by telephone, or by fax.

Information Needed - Requestors should identify the type of report wanted and the complete name of the reporting organization or individual. For union reports, requestors should provide as much identifying information about the union as possible including the union's affiliation (such as the International Factory Workers); its designation name and number (such as Local 100); the time period covered by the report (such as fiscal year ending June 30, 20__); the city and state where located; and, if known, the 6-digit file number assigned to the union by OLMS.

Cost of Copies - Reports cost 15 cents a page; requests for 30 or fewer pages are provided free of charge. Copies of reports may be picked up in person from any OLMS office and may be paid for by check or money order made payable to the "U.S. Department of Labor/OLMS." Reports not picked up in person will be mailed to the requestor along with a bill listing the charges. Arrangements can be made for OLMS to respond to small requests by fax.

Union Reports

Unions are required to file a report containing, among other things, basic identifying information within 90 days after the date on which the union first became subject to the LMRDA or CSRA.

Form LM-1 information reports disclose the union's name, affiliation, mailing address, fiscal year, membership fees and dues, and constitution and bylaws provisions governing specific aspects of its activities. The initial information report also includes copies of a reporting union's constitution and bylaws.

The initial Form LM-1 must be filed within 90 days after the date on which the labor organization first became subject to the LMRDA or CSRA. Thereafter, a union updates its initial Form LM-1 report by filing an amended Form LM-1 as necessary with its annual financial report to disclose changes in the practices or procedures which are not contained in the union's constitution and bylaws. A union must also file copies of any amended constitution and bylaws. Copies of collective bargaining agreements are not required to be filed with OLMS.

Note: When requesting a union's Form LM-1, the requestor should indicate whether the union's initial Form LM-1 (which may have been filed as early as 1959) or the union's most recent amended Form LM-1 is desired.

Annual Financial Reports - Unions must file one of three types of annual financial reports based on the total annual receipts of the union. The annual financial reports vary in the level of detail which must be reported and must be filed within 90 days after the end of the labor organization's fiscal year.

  • Form LM-2 is the most detailed report. Unions with total annual receipts of $200,000 or more and subordinate labor organizations held in trusteeship file this twelve-page report, which discloses certain information items and financial activities in separate line items under assets, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements. Supporting schedules detail loans, investments, payments to officers and employees, and other items. Form LM-2 reports submitted by large labor organizations often contain numerous attachments and may be very lengthy.
  • Form LM-3, a less-detailed four-page report, may be filed by unions with total annual receipts of less than $200,000 (if not in trusteeship). It requires the reporting of certain information items, has fewer financial items than the Form LM-2, and has no supporting schedules.
  • Form LM-4, an abbreviated two-page report, may be filed by unions with annual financial receipts of less than $10,000 (if not in trusteeship). It requires the reporting of a limited number of information items and only five financial details.

Simplified annual financial reports may be filed by parent body unions on behalf of subordinate labor organizations with no assets, liabilities, receipts, or disbursements and which meet certain other conditions.

Union Trusteeship Reports

Trusteeship reports are filed by parent body unions on behalf of subordinate labor organizations held in trusteeship.

Form LM-15 initial trusteeship reports, filed after trusteeships are imposed, disclose the reason(s) the trusteeship was imposed, the date it was established, and the trusteed union's financial condition at the time it was placed in trusteeship. Form LM-15 semiannual trusteeship reports, filed after each 6-month period following imposition of a trusteeship, disclose the reason(s) for its continuance.

Form LM-16 terminal trusteeship reports, filed after trusteeships are lifted or terminated, disclose the termination date and the names, titles, and method of selection of the officers of the formerly trusteed union. A terminal trusteeship financial report, which details the financial condition of the formerly trusteed union at the time of the termination of the trusteeship, must also be filed on Form LM-2.

Form LM-15A reports must be filed with Form LM-15 or LM-16 whenever, during the period covered by the report, the parent body union held either a convention to which the trusteed union sent delegates (or would have if not in trusteeship) or an election of its officers.

Other Reports

Other reports and documents available from OLMS are filed by organizations and individuals, usually on a "one-time" or "as necessary" basis, to disclose specific activities made reportable by LMRDA requirements.

Form LM-10 employer reports must be filed by employers who engage in certain specified financial dealings with their employees, unions, union agents, and labor relations consultants, or who make expenditures for certain purposes relating to employee or union activity.

Form LM-20 and Form LM-21 consultant reports must be filed by persons who make agreements or arrangements with employers to persuade employees about exercising their rights to organize and bargain collectively or to obtain information about employee or union activity in connection with a labor dispute involving an employer. Form LM-20 agreement and activities reports must be filed to disclose each such agreement or arrangement. Form LM-21 receipts and disbursements reports are filed by each person who received payments for any arrangement requiring the filing of a Form LM-20.

Form LM-30 labor organization officer and employee reports must be filed by union officers or employees (except clerical or custodial) if they, their spouses, or minor children had any interest, transaction, income, or benefit under specific conditions to disclose possible conflicts of interest.

Form S-1 surety company reports must be filed by such companies for each year in which they had a bond in force insuring any union or trust in which a union is interested under the LMRDA, or a welfare or pension plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

The OLMS public disclosure room, which maintains disclosure files for all reporting organizations and individuals, is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Office of Labor-Management Standards, Room N-5608
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210

(202) 693-0125 (voice)           (202) 693-1344 (fax)

OLMS field offices provide public disclosure services for reporting organizations and individuals within their geographic jurisdictions.

The OLMS Internet Public Disclosure Room is available online at: http://www.union-reports.dol.gov

OLMS Assistance

Additional information about the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act or the Civil Service Reform Act may be obtained from OLMS field offices.

Another OLMS publication, Reports Required, contains more detailed information concerning required reports and the circumstances when each one must be filed, when it is due, required signers, and other basic information. A copy of Reports Required is available online. Copies of Reports Required, other OLMS publications, and blank reporting forms and instructions are available at any OLMS office.

In addition, current Forms LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4 can be downloaded from http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/Electronic-Forms.htm and are also available on CD from any OLMS office. All other forms can be downloaded from http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/GPEA_Forms/blanklmforms.htm, or blank copies obtained from any OLMS office.


Last Updated: 06/21/04



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