On July 1, 2016, the Office of Management and Budget approved the Office of Labor-Management Standards’ (OLMS) revisions to the information collection request 1245-0003, as well as the Form LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4 Labor Organization Annual Report instructions. See the approved collection at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201604-1245-001

These changes require filers of the Form LM-3 and Form LM-4 to submit the reports electronically, and offer them temporary and continuing hardship exemptions when electronic filing will cause undue burden or expense.  The changes also modify the hardship exemption process for Form LM-2 filers, by eliminating the continuing hardship exemption for Form LM-2 filers.  Please see the Form LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4 Labor Organization Annual Reports page.

Specifically, labor organizations covered by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), and similar statutes, must file annual financial disclosure reports. Since 2005, OLMS has required the largest labor organizations, those with $250,000 or more in total annual receipts, to submit their financial disclosure form, the Form LM-2, electronically.  OLMS has permitted, but not required smaller unions, those that file the Form LM-3 and Form LM-4 to file electronic reports.  To file electronically, labor unions use the Electronic Forms System, which allows anyone with a web-enabled computer to complete, sign, and electronically file without any cost and without downloading special software.  Under the new rule, OLMS requires all these filers to file electronically.

There are many benefits to electronic filing.  Electronic reporting contains error checking and trapping functionality, as well as online, context-sensitive help, which improves the completeness and accuracy of the reporting. Electronic filing is more efficient for reporting entities, results in more immediate availability of the reports on the agency’s public disclosure website, and improves the efficiency of OLMS in processing the reports and in reviewing them for reporting compliance. In contrast, paper reports must be scanned and processed for data entry before they can be posted online for disclosure, which delays their availability for public review.

OLMS provides a temporary hardship exemption process, whereby filers receive an additional ten business days to complete the report electronically, provided that they temporarily submit paper forms in the interim by their filing due date.  Additionally, Form LM-3 and Form LM-4 filers can apply for a continuing hardship exemption, which permits filers to delay electronic filing for as long as a year.  Previously, the largest unions, filers of Form LM-2, were also permitted a continuing hardship exemption, but this option has been eliminated.  

The mandatory Form LM-3 and Form LM-4 electronic filing, as well as the changes to the Form LM-2 hardship process, became applicable to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2017.  Please visit the Form LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4 Labor Organization Annual Reports page on the OLMS website, as well as the hardship process page, for additional information.

For Further Information Contact: Andrew R. Davis, Chief of the Division of Interpretations and Standards, Office of Labor-Management Standards, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Room N-5609, Washington, DC 20210, olms-public@dol.gov, (202) 693-0123 (this is not a toll-free number), (800) 877-8339 (TTY/TDD).

 
 
 
 

Last Modified: 1-2-18