U.S.

Department of Labor

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Office of Labor-Management Standards

Washington, DC 20210

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DearL

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This letter is to inform you of reporting obligations that you may have pursuant to section
203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. 433.
LMRDA Section 203 requires employers and consultants to file reports with the
Department of Labor concerning agreements or arrangements to persuade employees
concerning their rights to organize and bargain collectively or to supply the employer
with certain information concerning the activities of employees or a labor organization in
connection with a labor dispute involving the employer. These reporting requirements
are subject to certain exceptions, which provide, in part, that no report is required
covering the services of a consultant or other person by reason of his giving or agreeing
to give advice to such employer, or supplying the employer information solely for
administrative, arbitral, or court proceedings. These reports are filed on forms provided
by the Department of Labors Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), the
agency charged with enforcing the LMKDA. The reports are made available to the
public on the OLMS website at www.dol.gov/olms.
A Form LM-20, Agreement and Activities Report, must be filed by any person who
enters into a persuader or information-supplying agreement with an employer. The report
must be filed within thirty (30) days after entering into the agreement or arrangement.
Additionally, every person required to file a Form LM-20 must file a Form LM-21,
Receipts and Disbursement Report, for any fiscal year during which payments were made
or received pursuant to a reportable agreement or arrangement. The Form LM-2 1 is due
within ninety (90) days after the close of the consultants fiscal year. Employers must
file a Form LM- 10, Employer Report, detailing a reportable persuader or informationsupplying agreement or arrangement with a consultant within 90 days after the close of
the employers fiscal year. The LMRDA provides for both civil and criminal
enforcement for violations of the reporting requirements.
Information obtained by OLMS from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
indicates that you have identified yourself as the representative of
an
employer who is a party to a petition for a representation election to be conducted by the
NLRB O1-RD-129760. As such, you may have Form LM-20 and Form LM-21 reporting
obligations if you have engaged or will engage in persuader or information-supplying
activities pursuant to your agreement or arrangement with the employer. OLMS has sent
a similar letter informing the employer of its potential Form LM-l0 reporting obligations.

Information on the reporting requirements and their exceptions, blank reporting fonns
and instructions, and access to reports on file may he obtained from the OLMS website
at: www.dol gov/olrns/regs/compliance/ecr.htrn. Additionally, a fact sheet concerning
employer and consultant reporting is enclosed. Completed reports should be submitted
to:
.

U. S. Department of Labor
Office of Labor-Management Standards
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-5616
Washington, DC 20210
If you require additional information or if you have any questions about potential
reporting obligations under the LMRDA, you may contact OLMS at (202) 693-0123 or
OLMS-Public@dol .gov.
Sincerely,

Andrew R. Davis
Chief, Division of Interpretations and Standards
Enclosure

(L

EmpIoyer-Consutant Agreements
Forms LM-1O, LM-20, and LM-21
Employers and labor relations consultants must file reports with the U.S. Department of Labors Office
of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) whenever they enter into an agreement or arrangement
whereby the consultant will undertake activities with either of the following objectives:
To persuade employees about exercising their rights to organize and bargain collectively or
To supply an employer with certain Information concerning the activities of employees or a labor or
ganization in connection with a labor dispute involving the employer
These reports are required under Section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
(LMRDA). This fact sheet includes general information about the requirements for reporting such
agreements on Employer Report Form LM-10, Agreement and Activities Report Form LM-20, and Re
ceipts and Disbursements Form LM-21. Specific reporting information and detailed instructions are
included with the forms on the OLMS Web site at www.olms.dol.gov.

Employer Report: Form LM-1O

Section 203(a) of the LMRDA requires employers
to file a report, Form LM-10, with OLMS if they
make certain expenditures or engage in certain ac
tivities, including entering into agreements or
arrangements with any third party consultant, to
persuade employees concerning their collective
bargaining or organizing rights or to obtain certain
information, as detailed above. The report must be
signed by the president and the treasurer or corre
sponding principal officers of the reporting
employer, or by the sole proprietor, as appropriate.
When must the LM-1O report be filed?

A Form LM-l0 report is required within 90 days

after the end of the employers fiscal year. Employ
ers are required to file only one Form LM-l0 each
fiscal year that covers alL instances of reportable
activity even if, for example, activity occurs at mul
tiple locations or the employer enters into more than
one consultant agreement. There are exceptions to
filing, and these are noted in Item 8 of the Form
LM-1 0 instructions.
Note: Employers are required to report on Form
LM-l 0 concerning other matters not related to per
suader expenditures or agreements. Pursuant to
LMRDA Section 203(a), employers must also file
the Form LM-l0 to report certain payments to un
ions and individuals affiliated with unions,
including any officer, employee, shop steward, or
agent of a labor organization. There are exceptions

to filing, and these are noted in Item 8 of the Form

LM-l0 instructions.

Consultant Reports: Forms LM-20 and 21

Form LM-20: Agreement and Activity Report
Section 203(b) of the LMRDA requires any person,
including a labor relations consultant, to file a re
port, Form LM-20, to disclose agreements or
arrangements with any employer to undertake cer
tain activities to persuade employees concerning
their collective bargaining or organizing rights or to
obtain certain information, as detailed above. These
individuals or organizations must file a separate
Form LM-20 for each agreement or arrangement
they make with an employer. The report must be
signed by the president and the treasurer or corre
sponding principal officers of the consultant firm
or, if the filer is self-employed, by the individual
consultant.
When must the Form LM-20 report be filed?

Anyone required to file a Form LM-20 must do so

within 30 days after entering into a reportable
agreement. There are exceptions to filing, and these
are noted in the Form LM-20 instructions.

Form LM-21: Receipts and Disbursements

Report
Any person required to file a Form LM-20 also
must file a Form LM-21 Receipts and Disburse
ments Report for any year in which payments were
made or received as a result of arrangements of the
kind requiring the Form LM-20 report.

When must the Form LM-21 report be filed?

Consultants (individuals or organizations) required
to file a Form LM-21 must do so within 90 days
afier the end of the consultants fiscal year. The
report must be signed by the president and the
treasurer, or corresponding principal officers, of the
consultant firm or, if the filer is self-employed, by
the individual consultant.
The LM-21 report must include financial informa
tion, not only about payments and arrangements
related to activities reportable on the Form LM-20,

but also about other receipts and disbursements re

lated to labor relations advice or services for
employers. There are exceptions to filing, and these
are noted in the Form LM-21 instructions.

Recordkeeping Requirements
Section 206 of the LMRDA requires that Form LM
10, LM-20, and LM-21 filers must maintain for a
period of five years records to verify, explain or
clarify items required to be reported on Forms LM
10, LM-20, and LM-21. Title VI, Section 601, gives
OLMS the authority to inspect the records.

Office of Labor-Management Standards Field Offices

Atlanta, GA
Birmingham, AL
Boston, MA
Buffalo, NY
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH

Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI

Grand Rapids, Ml
Guaynabo, PR
Honolulu, HI
Houston, TX

Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
New Haven, CT

New Orleans, LA
New York, NY
Newark, NJ
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
St. Louis, MO

San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Tampa, FL
Washington, DC

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/contactsllmskeyp.htm.

OLMS
Office of Labor-Management Standards
U.S. Department of Labor
April 2010

Visit us at www.olms.doLgov
E-mail us at olms-pub licdol.gov
Call the DCL Toll-Free Help Line at 1.866.487.2365