Note to Review - Pre-2007 Form LM-30

NOTE TO REVIEWER

OMB No. 1215-0205

This submission is a request for a renewal of the information collection (IC) accepted on March 18, 2009 (OMB No. 1215-0205), and it pertains to the pre-2007 Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report (pre-2007 Form LM-30). On July 2, 2007, the Department published a revised Form LM-30. This 2007 Form LM-30 is currently a part of an existing collection; the information requirements of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) are currently approved under OMB # 1215-0188, with an expiration date of November 30, 2011. The currently approved collection includes Forms LM-1, LM-2, LM-3, LM-4, LM-10, LM-15, LM-15A, LM-16, LM-20, LM-21, 2007 LM-30, T-1, and S-1.

The Department published in the spring 2009 Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda notice of an intended rulemaking to revise the 2007 Form LM-30. The rulemaking is intended to review questions of policy and law surrounding these reporting requirements. The rulemaking will focus on the changes resulting from the 2007 regulatory revision of the Form and instructions. This revision dramatically altered the old, pre-2007 Form LM-30 and instructions, which had not substantially changed in over 40 years. Despite the promulgation of the new Form LM-30 in 2007, fundamental questions regarding the scope and extent of the reporting obligations are unanswered, and litigation challenging some aspects of the form remains pending. Yet, labor organization officers and employees must continue to meet the reporting requirements of the LMRDA. In light of this uncertainty, the pending regulatory action, the pending litigation, and the statutorily-imposed filing deadlines, the Department has determined that it would not be a good use of resources to bring enforcement actions based upon a failure to use a specific form to comply with the statutory obligation to report certain financial information.

Accordingly, the Department will refrain from initiating enforcement actions against labor organization officers and employees based solely on the failure to file the report required by section 202 of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. § 432, using the 2007 form, as long as individuals meet their statutorily-required filing obligation in some manner. The Department will accept either the pre-2007 Form LM-30 or the 2007 form for purposes of this non-enforcement policy.

The Department is seeking an extension of this information collection on the pre-2007 Form LM-30 through November 30, 2011. The Department seeks this request to ensure that filers have both options available pending regulatory action. This information collection is currently approved for use through January 31, 2010. The Department is seeking an extension of this information collection through November 30, 2011, which would align it with the current expiration date for OMB Number 1215-0188 (all other LMRDA reporting and disclosure forms). At the time that the Department seeks comment on and approval of these forms, the Department will include the Form LM-30 as part of the package. As noted above, the Department anticipates that before November 30, 2011, a revised Form LM-30 will have been promulgated.