Olms interpretative Manual

WHOMUSTFILE

241.002

For definitions of “labor organization officer,” “labor organization employee,” see 29 CFR404.1.

ATTORNEY-CLIENTCOMMUNICATIONS

Nothing contained in this part shall be construed to require an attorney who is a member ingood standing of the bar of any Stateto include in any report required to be filed pursuant to theprovisions of section 202(a) of the Act and of this part any information which was lawfullycommunicated to such attorney by any of his clients in the course of a legitimate attorney-clientrelationship.

29CFR404.5

(State in the above section also includes any Territory or the District of Columbia.See 29CFR401.2.)

(Revised:Jan.2021)

241.005USEOFFORMLM-30PRIORACTIVITIES

A former union officer who engaged in activities clearly reportable under section 202 prior totheissuanceofFormLM-30,andwhodidnotreportsuchactivitiesuntilaftertheissuanceofthatform,isrequiredtoreportonFormLM-30.

The regulations governing reporting by union officers and employees (29 CFR Part 404)require reports to be made on Form LM-30 which is incorporated by reference into theregulations.Thus, insofar as Form LM-30 requires reporting of matters reportable underLMRDA since its passage, it cannot be said that the form is being given retroactive application.Reports of the activities in question were required to be made at the end of the fiscal year inwhich such activities were undertaken and only the mannerin which they are to be reported hasbeen changed.

(Revised:Dec.2016)

241.100INTERNATIONALOFFICERWITHINCOMEFROMBUSINESSDEALINGWITHLOCALUNION

Section 202(a) of the Act requires reports from “every officer of a labor organization” ofincome derived from “any business a substantial part of which consists of buying from, selling orleasing to, or otherwise dealing with, the business of an employer whose employees such labororganization represents or is actively seeking to represent.”An international union officer mustreport his income from such a business even though he is not an officer of the local whichrepresents the employees of thebusiness,andeventhoughhisdutiesas an internationalofficerdo not include representation activities.

241.200 TRUSTEES

The trustee appointed by a superior labor organization to administer or supervise asubordinate labor organization which has been placed in trusteeship is subject to the reportingrequirementsofsection202.

241.300APPLICATIONTOMEMBERS

Reports are required only from those “officers” and “employees” of labor organizations whohave engaged in any of the activities specified in section 202(a) of the Act.Activities specifiedtherein need not be reported if undertaken by a member of the labor organization, provided, thememberis neither an officer nor an employee of the union.

241.400SELF-INCRIMINATION

Reports required of union officers or union employees under section 202(a) of LMRDA mustbe submitted notwithstanding the fact that the information required to be included in the reportmay disclose a violation of section 302 of the Taft-Hartley Act.Because section 302 contains acriminal provision, it has been argued that the reporting required by LMRDA 202(a) infringes onthe constitutional 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination.However, the only courtso far to have ruled on a 5th amendment challenge to Section 202(a) rejected it.See UnitedStatesv.McCarthy,422F.2d160,160(2dCir.1970).

(Revised:Dec.2016)

241.500 FRANCHISED AGENTS

Franchised agents of the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) who act only asrepresentatives of artist and entertainers in dealing with employers in the entertainment fieldwould have no duty to report the payments made to AGVA for the franchise under section 203 ofthe Act.Franchised agents when acting as such would not be employers within the meaning ofsection 203 or within the meaning of that definition in the Act.The agent’s interest inrepresenting the artist is opposed to that of the employer.The success of the agent depends uponthe bargain he can strike on behalf of the artist.His income is derived from commissions onearnings of his clients.Thus, it cannot be fairly concluded that agents, insofar as they are actingin that capacity alone, are employers subject to the reporting requirements of section 203 of theAct.

However, a different conclusion would be warranted in those cases where franchised agentsnot only act as representatives of artist but also act as producers of package shows, etc.Clearly,when acting as a producer, the agent would be an employer within the meaning of the Act andreports would be required under section 203(a)(1) for the payments made to AGVA in the formof a franchise fee.Such payments do not seem to fall within the exceptions contained in section203(a)(1).(But payments made by them as producers into the AGVA welfare trust fund or theAGVA sick and relief fund would seem to fall within the exceptions contained in section302(c)(5) of the LMRA, and consequently would not have to be reported under section203(a)(1).)

The question may be asked whether a franchised agent may be considered an “. . . agent . . .or other representative” of AGVA within the meaning of section 3(q) and therefore come withinthe reporting requirements of section 202.It should be pointed out that section 202 of the Actdoes not employ the terms “agent” or “representative”; it refers to “officers” and “employees” ofa labor organization.In our opinion, a person independently engaged in the business ofrepresenting professional entertainers is not an “employee” or “officer” of the union to which theentertainer may belong by reason of his contractual duty to observe the conditions laid down intheunion’s standardformof contract fortheprotectionandbenefitofhisclients.

241.600DEPENDENCEONEMPLOYEROBLIGATIONTOREPORT

The fact that employers are excepted from reporting certain transactions with union officersand employees by virtue of section 203(a) does not in any way affect the obligation of the unionofficersandemployeestoreportsuchtransactions,wheretheapplicableprovisionofsection202doesnot provide apertinent exception.

*241.700“DEMINIMIS”

We should all take cognizance of the “de minimis non curat lex” doctrine.This means thatcourts will not find persons guilty of acts involving trivial sums of money. The instructions forFormLM-30 providethat: