The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) Feb. 20 announced the implementation date of the rule revising the current LM-2 financial disclosure form for larger unions will be delayed until April 21. The rule also establishes a procedure to revoke the LM-3 form filed by smaller unions when filers submit delinquent or erroneous reports.
The rule was originally published Jan. 21 and was scheduled to take effect Feb. 20. In January, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memorandum to all federal departments and agencies delaying implementation of many recently finalized regulations scheduled to go into effect early this year, including the LM-2 rule. In response, OLMS Feb. 3 asked for comments on a proposal to delay the rule, citing the need for a longer review period.
ABC Feb. 12 filed comments urging OLMS to keep the original effective date, pointing out that financial transparency is even more important in this time of economic turmoil. ABC also pointed out that according to OLMS’ most recent annual report, LM-2 filing have resulted in more than 900 convictions and more than $91.5 million in recovered unions funds and restitutions since 2001.
“The rules’ timely implementation is necessary to carry out the department’s statutory mandate to combat union-related corruption, as directed by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA),” ABC stated in its comments.
To view the text of the final rule in PDF, click
here.
To view the delay of the final rule in PDF, click
here.
To view ABC’s comments in PDF, click
here.
For more information, contact Sean Thurman at ABC,
thurman@abc.org.