OLMS Fact Sheet 

Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) grants certain rights to union members 

and protects their interests by promoting democratic procedures within labor organizations. The 

LMRDA establishes the following: 

• Bill of Rights for union members 

• Reporting requirements for labor organizations, union officers and employees, employers, laborrelations consultants, and surety companies 

• Standards for the regular election of union officers 

• Safeguards for protecting labor organization funds and assets 

Unions representing federal employees are similarly 

covered by the implementing regulations of the 

standards of conduct provisions of the Civil Service 

Reform Act. Unions representing solely state, 

county, and municipal employees are not covered 

by either of these laws except that intermediate 

bodies that are subordinate to an LMRDA-covered 

national or international labor organization are 

subject to the LMRDA. 

The Secretary of Labor enforces certain provisions 

of the LMRDA and has delegated that authority to 

the Office of Labor-Management Standards 

(OLMS). Other provisions may only be enforced by 

union members through a private suit in a federal 

district court. Major provisions of the LMRDA are 

outlined below. 

Title I – Bill of Rights of Union Members

• Union members have equal rights to nominate 

candidates for union office, vote in union 

elections, and participate in union meetings. They 

may also meet with other members and express 

any opinions. 

• Unions may impose assessments and raise dues 

only by democratic procedures. 

• Unions must afford members a full and fair 

hearing of charges against them. 

• Unions must inform their members about the 

provisions of the LMRDA. 

• Members may enforce Title I rights through a 

private suit against the union, but may be required 

to exhaust internal union remedies for up to four 

months before filing suit. 

• Union members and nonunion employees may 

receive and inspect collective bargaining 

agreements. This right may be enforced by the 

individual or by the Secretary of Labor. 

Title II – Reporting Requirements 

• Unions must file information reports, 

constitutions and bylaws, and annual financial 

reports with OLMS. 

• Officers and employees of labor unions must 

report any loans and benefits received from, or 

certain financial interests in, employers whose 

employees their unions represent and businesses 

that deal with their unions. 

• Employers and labor-relations consultants who 

engage in certain activities to persuade employees 

about their union activities or to supply 

information to the employer must file reports. 

• Surety companies that issue bonds required by the 

LMRDA or the Employee Retirement Income 

Security Act must report data such as premiums 

received, total claims paid, and amounts 

recovered. 

• The Secretary of Labor has authority to enforce 

the reporting requirements of the LMRDA. 

• The reports and documents filed with OLMS are 

public information and any person may examine 

them or obtain copies at OLMS offices or via the 

OLMS Internet Public Disclosure Room at 

www.unionreports.gov. 

• Filers must retain the records necessary to verify 

the reports for at least five years after the reports 

are filed. 

• Unions must make reports available to members 

and permit members to examine records for just 

cause. 
Title III – Trusteeships 

• A parent union that places a subordinate body 

under trusteeship must file initial, semiannual, 

and terminal trusteeship reports.

• A trusteeship may only be imposed for the 

purposes specified in the LMRDA and must be 

established and administered in accordance with 

the constitution and bylaws of the labor 

organization that has imposed the trusteeship. 

• A parent union that imposes a trusteeship may not 

engage in specified acts involving the funds and 

delegate votes from a trusteed union. 

• The Secretary of Labor has authority to 

investigate alleged violations of this Title. A 

union member or a subordinate labor organization 

may also enforce the trusteeship provisions 

except for the reporting requirements. 

Title IV – Elections 

• Local unions must elect their officers by secret 

ballot; international unions and intermediate 

bodies must elect their officers by secret ballot 

vote of the members or by delegates chosen by 

secret ballot. 

• International unions must hold elections at least 

every five years, intermediate bodies every four 

years, and local unions every three years. 

• Unions must comply with a candidate's request to 

distribute campaign material to members at the 

candidate's own expense and must also refrain 

from discriminating against any candidate with 

respect to the use of membership lists. Candidates 

have the right to inspect a list containing the 

names and addresses of members subject to a 

union security agreement within 30 days prior to 

the election. 

• A member in good standing has the right to 

nominate candidates, to be a candidate subject to 

reasonable qualifications uniformly imposed, to 

hold office, and to support and vote for the 

candidates of the member's choice. 

• Unions must mail a notice of election to every 

member at the member's last-known home 

address at least 15 days prior to the election. 

• A member whose dues have been withheld by an 

employer may not be declared ineligible to vote 

or to be a candidate for office by reason of 

alleged delay or default in the payment of dues. 

• Unions must conduct regular elections of officers 

in accordance with their constitution and bylaws 

and preserve all election records for one year. 

• Union and employer funds may not be used to 

promote the candidacy of any candidate. Union 

funds may be utilized for expenses necessary for 

the conduct of an election. 

• Union members may hold a secret ballot vote to 

remove from office an elected local union official 

guilty of serious misconduct if the Secretary of 

Labor finds that the union constitution and 

bylaws do not provide adequate procedures for 

such a removal. 

• Union members who have exhausted internal 

union election remedies or who have invoked 

such remedies without obtaining a final decision 

within three calendar months after their 

invocation may file a complaint with the 

Secretary within one calendar month thereafter. 

• The Secretary of Labor has authority to file suit in 

a federal district court to set aside an invalid 

election and to request the court to order a new 

election under the supervision of the Secretary and 

in accordance with Title IV. 

Title V – Safeguards for Labor Organizations 

• Officers have a duty to manage the funds and property 

of the union solely for the benefit of the union in 

accordance with its constitution and bylaws. 

• A union officer or employee who embezzles or 

otherwise misappropriates union funds or other 

assets commits a federal crime punishable by a fine 

and/or imprisonment. 

• Officials who handle union funds or property must 

be bonded to provide protection against losses. 

• A union may not have outstanding loans to any one 

officer or employee that in total exceed $2,000. 

• A union or employer may not pay the fine of any 

officer or employee convicted of any willful 

violation of the LMRDA. 

• Persons convicted of certain crimes may not hold 

union office or employment for up to 13 years after 

conviction or after the end of imprisonment. 

Title VI - Miscellaneous Provisions

• Authority is granted to the Secretary of Labor to 

investigate possible violations of most provisions 

of the LMRDA (except those specifically 

excluded) and to enter premises, examine records, 

and question persons in the course of the 

investigation. 

• A union or any of its officials may not fine, 

suspend, expel, or otherwise discipline a member 

for exercise of rights under the LMRDA. 

• No one may use or threaten to use force or 

violence to interfere with a union member in the 

exercise of LMRDA rights. 
Office of Labor-Management Standards Field Offices 

Atlanta, GA Dallas, TX Kansas City, MO New Orleans, LA San Francisco, CA 

Birmingham, AL Denver, CO Los Angeles, CA New York, NY Seattle, WA 

Boston, MA Detroit, MI Miami, FL Newark, NJ Tampa, FL 

Buffalo, NY Grand Rapids, MI Milwaukee, WI Philadelphia, PA Washington, DC 

Chicago, IL Guaynabo, PR Minneapolis, MN Phoenix, AZ 

Cincinnati, OH Honolulu, HI Nashville, TN Pittsburgh, PA 

Cleveland, OH Houston, TX New Haven, CT St. Louis, MO 

For the address and telephone number of our field offices, please consult local telephone directory listings under United States 

Government, Labor Department, Office of Labor-Management Standards, or view our online organizational listing at 

http://www.dol.gov/olms/contacts/lmskeyp.htm. 

 

OLMS 

Office of Labor-Management Standards 

U.S. Department of Labor 

February 2010

Visit us at www.olms.dol.gov

E-mail us at olms-public@dol.gov

Call the DOL Toll-Free Help Line at 1.866.487.2365