Notice to Rescind Form T-1
Final Rules
On December 1, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) announced the release of a final rule rescinding the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report and its implementing regulations.
The Form T-1 was required to be filed by labor organization about certain trusts, under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The DOL considers the trust report to be overly broad as structured. The rule returns "subsidiary organization" reporting to the Form LM-2, Labor Organization Annual Report and modifies subsidiary organization reporting on the Form LM-3, Labor Organization Annual Report. The DOL also examined the definition of "labor organization" as presented under LMRDA and reconsiders the interpretation adopted in 2003, stating that the statute's coverage does not encompass intermediate bodies wholly composed of public sector organizations.
The rule is effective January 1, 2011. Changes made to Form LM-2 and Form LM-3 reporting requirements will apply to reports required by labor organizations with fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2011.
The DOL issued a correction notice for the effective date of the final rule.
(update 12/7/2010)
Proposed Rules
On February 2, 2010, the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) published in the Federal Register a notice proposing to rescind the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report. As part of its proposal to rescind the Form T-1, OLMS proposes to return to the Form LM-2 Labor Organization Annual Report the reporting of entities that are wholly owned, controlled, and financed by a single union (i.e. “subsidiary organizations”). Additionally, in interpreting the definition of “labor organization” under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), OLMS in its notice proposes to return to its long held view that the statute’s coverage does not encompass intermediate bodies that are wholly composed of public sector labor organizations. In so doing, OLMS has reconsidered a definitional interpretation that it adopted in 2003, and now considers that its pre-2003 policy constitutes a better effectuation of the purposes of the statute.
Former Rules
On December 30, 2009, OLMS published in the Federal Register a rule extending for one year the filing due date of all Form T-1 reports required to be filed during calendar year 2010. The rule does not affect those reports due during calendar year 2011 or beyond. This extension will prevent unions from incurring costly reporting burdens pending the rulemaking to rescind the Form T-1 regulation.
Other Resources
DOL Rescinds Form T-1 Trust Annual Report, Buck Consultants, 3/25/11