1 U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) Filing Form LM-10 An Overview...

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U.S. Department of LaborOffice of Labor-Management Standards

(OLMS)

Filing Form LM-10An Overview of

Reporting by Employers

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Introduction

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) requires employers to file a report annually with the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards if they engage in specific financial transactions or arrangements with:

• Unions

• Union Officers

• Union Agents

• Shop Stewards

• Union Employees

• Union Representatives

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General Exemption

• $250 or less in the aggregate to a given recipient in a given year

and• Unrelated to the recipient’s role with the union,

that is, the employer ordinarily provides the same thing to individuals in similar circumstances who are not union officials. For example, if an employer routinely provides a meal for clients during long meetings, a meal for union officials during such a meeting would not be reportable.

There is a general exemption for payments to unions and union personnel if the payments are:

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Downloading Form LM-10

1. Go to the OLMS Web site at www.olms.dol.gov.

2. Find Forms Download in the blue menu bar on the right side of the screen.

3. Click on All Other Forms.

4. Scroll down the page to Form LM-10.

To download a blank Form LM-10 and the instructions for completing the form:

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Employer

Under the LMRDA, an “employer” includes any private sector business or organization that is an employer within the meaning of any law of the United States relating to the employment of employees

To be an employer, an entity must have at least one employee or be acting for an employer.

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Which Employers Must Report Payments to Unions and Union Representatives?

• An employer whose employees the recipient’s labor organization represents or is actively seeking to represent

• An employer—a substantial part of whose business consists of buying from, or selling or leasing directly or indirectly to, or otherwise dealing with an employer whose employees the recipient’s labor organization represents or is actively seeking to represent

• An employer that buys from, or sells or leases directly or indirectly to, or otherwise deals with the recipient’s labor organization

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Which Employers Must Report (cont.)

• An employer that buys from, or sells or leases directly or indirectly to, or otherwise deals with a trust in which the recipient’s labor organization is interested

• An employer in active and direct competition with an employer described in any of the above categories

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Other Reporting Obligations

Employers must also file a Form LM-10 if they:• Pay their employees to persuade other employees

about their bargaining and representation rights• Make payments for the purpose of interfering with

employees in the exercise of their bargaining and representation rights

• Make arrangements with (or payments to) a labor relations consultant or other person to persuade employees about the exercise of those rights or to obtain information on employee or union activities in connection with a labor dispute involving the employer

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Other Reporting Obligations

Certain events that trigger a Form LM-10 filing obligation for the employer may trigger other filing obligations:

• Form LM-30, Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report

• Forms LM-20/21, Agreement and Activities Report/ Receipts and Disbursements Report (Consultants)

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Completing Form LM-10

Form LM-10 has two parts:

• Part A requires employer identifying information and in Item 8 information on which types of reportable activity the employer has engaged in during the year

• Part B requires specific information on each reportable activity.

– A separate Part B must be filed for each person or organization for which a “yes” answer in Item 8 of Part A applies

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Form LM-10 – Part A

• The first seven items of Part A (page 1) must be completed by all filers.

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Form LM-10 – Part A (cont.)

• Items 5 – 7 concern the location of records necessary to verify this report and the type of organization

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Part A – Item 8

Item 8a

Any payments or loans of money or other things of value (including reimbursed expenses) or promises of payments or loans

to any labor organization or any officer, employee, agent, or other representative of a labor organization

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Item 8a - EXCLUSIONS

• Payments or loans made in the regular course of business as a national or state bank, credit union, insurance company, savings and loan association, or other credit institution

• Section 302(c) of the Labor Management Relations Act excludes:

1) Salaries and reimbursed expenses received as a bona fide employee of the employer

2) Payments to satisfy a judgment or arbitration award

3) Payments to settle a bona fide claim, in the absence of fraud or duress

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Item 8a – EXCLUSIONS (cont.)

5) Market-rate purchases in the regular course of business

6) Check-off dues lawfully deducted from employees’ wages

7) Payments, in accordance with the law, to Taft-Hartley trust funds (governed jointly by employer and union representatives).

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Item 8a – EXCLUSIONS (cont.)

The following may also be excluded:

• Payments made in the regular course of business of interest on bonds or dividends on stock to individuals without regard to whether they are identified with a labor organization

• Loans made to employees under terms unrelated to the employee’s status in a labor organization

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Item 8a – EXCLUSIONS (cont.)

The following may also be excluded:

• Payments to a union official’s spouse unless the payments may be considered indirect payments to the official. Factors to consider are:

The reason for the payment

The relationship between the payer and the spouse

The relationship between the payer and the union officer, union, or trust involved

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Gifts from an Employee to a Union Official

An employer must report a gift by one of its employees to a union official even if the gift was purchased with the employee’s personal funds if:

• The employee holds a key position such as a manager, or• The employee’s job includes generating or maintaining business

relationships with unions or affiliated trusts, or• The employee’s job includes engaging in labor relations activity

for the employer, or• The employee was acting directly or indirectly for the employer;

for example, if the employee could have sought reimbursement from the employer but chose not to.

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Part A – Item 8

Direct or indirect payments (including reimbursed expenses)

to employees or a group of employeesto cause them to persuade or influence

other employees in the exercise of their right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing

Item 8b

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Item 8b - EXCLUSIONS

• Compensation for services as a regular officer, supervisor, or employee

• Payments that were disclosed to the other employees before or at the time they were made

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Part A – Item 8

Any expenditure

with an object, directly or indirectly,to interfere with, restrain or coerce

employees

in their right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing

Item 8c

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Item 8c

• “Interfere with, restrain, or coerce” means interference, restraint, or coercion that constitutes an unfair labor practice if done with respect to the rights guaranteed in section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.

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Part A – Item 8

Any expenditure with

an object, directly or indirectly,

to obtain information concerning the activities of employees or of a labor organization

in connection with a labor dispute in which the employer was involved

Item 8d

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Item 8d - EXCLUSIONS

• Information for use solely in an administrative, arbitral, criminal, or civil proceeding

• Compensation for services as a regular officer, supervisor, or employee of the employer

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Part A – Item 8

Any agreement or arrangement (or payment)

with a labor relations consultant, independent contractor, or organizationwhich results in that person undertaking

activities with an object, directly or indirectly,to persuade employees in the exercise of their right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own

choosing

Item 8e

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Item 8e - EXCLUSIONS

• Agreements or arrangements covering services related exclusively to:

– Giving advice to the employer

– Representing the employer in legal proceedings

– Engaging in collective bargaining on behalf of the employer

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Part A – Item 8

Any agreement or arrangement (or payment)

with a labor relations consultant, independent contractor, or organizationwhich resulted in that person undertaking activities with an object, directly or indirectly,to furnish the employer information about activities of employees or a labor

organizationin connection with a labor dispute in which the employer was involved

Item 8f

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Item 8f - EXCLUSIONS

• Agreements or arrangements for obtaining information for use solely in an administrative, arbitral, criminal, or civil proceeding

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Form LM-10 – Part B

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Items 9a –d

Complete a separate Part B for each Yes answer in Item 8. In Item 9a indicate whether an agreement, payment, or both are being reported. In Items 9b-9d enter the requested information about the person to whom payments were made or with whom an agreement was reached.

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Form LM-10 – Part B (cont.)

• Items 10 and 11 concern agreements or arrangements made, and details of payments made

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Form LM-10 – Part B (cont.)

• Detailed account of services rendered or promised

• Conditions and terms of all listed agreements

• Indications that payment benefited person(s) in Item 9b or entity named in Item 9d

Item 12 Required Disclosures

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Form LM-10 – Part B (cont.)

Item 12 Required Disclosures

• If payments or agreements were made through a person not shown above, the full name and address of such person must be provided

• Explanation as to why the payment, promise, or agreement was made

Any incomplete responses or unclear explanations will render the report deficient.

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Signing the Form LM-10

• Form LM-10 must be signed by the president and treasurer, or corresponding principal officers, of the reporting employer.

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Filing Form LM-10

• Employers must file Form LM-10 within 90 days after the end of their fiscal year.

• The completed Form LM-10 must be mailed to:

U.S. Department of LaborOLMS, Room N-1519200 Constitution Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20210-0001

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Obtaining Copies of Completed Reports

• All reports required to be filed under the LMRDA are public information.

– View and print Form LM-10 reports for the year 2000 and later at www.unionreports.dol.gov.

– Order earlier reports at this Web site. Form LM-10 reports may also be examined, and copies purchased, at the OLMS Public Disclosure Room:

U.S. Department of LaborOffice of Labor-Management StandardsRoom N-1519200 Constitution Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20210-0001

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Additional Information

• More information about Form LM-10 is available on the Internet at www.olms.dol.gov.

• You can also contact your nearest OLMS field office or e-mail us at olms.public@dol.gov.

• If you would like to receive periodic email updates from OLMS, subscribe to the OLMS Mailing List via the OLMS Web site.