View Rule

The Department intends to review the layout of the Form LM-10 and will consider proposing a requirement for employers to disclose on the Form LM-10 whether the filer is a federal contractor and other related information.

Statement of Need:

The Department proposes this change in response to the increased prevalence of, and public interest in, persuader activities in recent years.  Disclosing contractor status is consistent with Congress’s intent in enacting the LMRDA: [I]t continues to be the responsibility of the Federal Government to protect employees’ rights to organize, choose their own representatives, bargain collectively, and otherwise engage in concerted activities for their mutual aid or protection.  29 U.S.C. 401(a).  Further, such disclosure is also consistent with the LMRDA’s employer reporting requirements, which require a full explanation of the circumstances of all such payments, including the terms of any agreement or understanding pursuant to which they were made. 29 U.S.C. 433(a).  The revision here proposes that one of the circumstances that must be explained is whether the payments concerned employees of Federal contractors or subcontractors and, if so, the filer would provide its Unique Entity Identity (UEI) and the relevant Federal contracting agency(ies) if applicable. 

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The legal authority for this notice of proposed rulemaking is set forth in sections 203 and 208 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. 433, 438.

Alternatives:

There are three significant possible alternatives to the one checkbox and two lines that the Department is considering in drafting this proposed Form LM-10 modification:  1) no modification of Item 12, 2) only utilizing the checkbox modification, and 3) only requiring the employer to identify the UEI and contracting agencies.  See the proposed revision for complete explanations of why the department chose not to pursue these alternatives.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

This proposed amendment to the Form LM-10 has an approximated 10-year cost of between $55,642.00 and $166,926.00 spread across 647 separate yearly Form LM-10 filers.  By updating the form and instructions to propose this change and to clearly and accurately describe the information employers must disclose, the proposed revision will support harmonious labor relations and will facilitate filers’ understanding and compliance, thereby reducing incidents of noncompliance and associated costs incurred when noncompliant.   

Risks:

The Department of Labor has found no significant risk associated with the addition to Form LM-10 codified in this proposed revision