The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) requires union officers and employees to file Form LM-30, Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report, to disclose financial transactions and arrangements that pose an actual or potential conflict of interest. In 2007, the Department of Labor (DOL) made numerous changes to the form and instructions, which significantly increased the information required to be reported. The 2007 rules created strong objections and much uncertainty as to what needed to be reported. Prompted by the uncertainty, the DOL announced in March 2009 that they would not take enforcement action on much of the 2007 reporting requirements and filers could use either the pre-2007 or revised 2007 form. In an effort to clarify and simplify the reporting requirements, proposed rules were issued in August 2010 addressing the issues of the 2007 rules. On October 26, 2011 the DOL issued final rules rescinding the 2007 Form LM-30 and establishing a Revised 2011 Form LM-30, which is designed to balance the benefits of disclosure with the burden of reporting.

The principal revisions are, in general:

  • Union leave and no docking payments are not reportable.
  • Union stewards are not considered to be employees of the union and are exempt from the Form LM-30 filing requirements.
  • Bona fide financial transactions, including loans, with financial institutions are not required to be reported.
  • Payments from unions, their trusts, and employers that compete with employers whose employees are represented by the union are not reportable.
  • The requirement that officers of a national, international, or intermediate union must report interests in and payments from employers and businesses that have a relationship with subordinate affiliates in addition to their own union has not changed. The scope of required reporting for employees of parent unions, however, has been revised to limit the reporting requirement to employees who exercise “significant authority or influence” over the activities of a subordinate.

The new rules are effective for years beginning on or after January 1, 2012. The revised Form LM-30 must be filed for 2012. For 2011, the DOL will accept the pre-2007 form, 2007 form, or the new revised form and, accordingly, will not initiate enforcement actions for failure to file a particular form as long as the filing obligation is met in some manner.