The vast majority of union officers and employees do their work diligently and without incident. Unfortunately, civil and criminal violations do sometimes occur and, when they do, the union is typically the victim. The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) enforces provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), which promotes labor union democracy and financial integrity through adopting and enforcing standards for union officer elections and union trusteeships and safeguards for union assets.
Criminal Investigations
OLMS criminal investigations involve:
- The embezzlement or theft of union funds, property or assets
- Recordkeeping and reporting violations such as false statements, false reports and destruction of records
- The use or threatened use of force or violence to restrain, coerce or intimidate a member in order to interfere with or prevent the member from exercising their LMRDA rights
- Extortionate picketing - picketing on or about an employer’s premises for the personal profit of any individual by obtaining money from the employer
- Prohibitions against persons convicted of certain felonies holding union office or employment in certain positions
- Unlawful acts relating to trusteeships, loans to officers and payment of fines
- Union election fraud where there has been ballot tampering or other illegal acts committed in order to influence the outcome of the election
Criminal investigations are opened based on various sources of information including complaints. Please contact the OLMS field office closest to you if you want to provide information about a criminal matter. You do not have to tell us your name in order to provide information. However, you should be prepared to provide us with information identifying the union and persons involved and describe the suspected illegal activity.
Labor Union Fraud such as embezzlement, filing false reports, maintaining false records, destroying or concealing records and other criminal activity can be reported to any OLMS field office.
You can also contact us via email at OLMS-Public@dol.gov or call 202-693-0143.
Click here for information about recent OLMS criminal enforcement actions.
Civil Investigations
Civil investigations conducted by OLMS relate to:
- The conduct of union officer elections
- Financial audits of union books and records
- Filing of acceptable reports by unions, union officers, employers, consultants and others
- The imposition and continuance of trusteeships over subordinate unions by a parent body
- Determinations as to whether an organization is a labor organization
- Obtaining copies of collective bargaining agreements for members or the right to inspect the agreements
Civil investigations are opened based on various sources of information including complaints, review of required financial reports and audits conducted by OLMS. Please contact the OLMS field office closest to you for guidance in filing a complaint with OLMS about a civil matter. If you wish to file a complaint about an election of union officers, please review Union Officer Elections: A Complainant’s Guide.
You can also contact us via email at OLMS-Public@dol.gov or call 202-693-0143.
Click here for information about recent OLMS civil enforcement actions and voluntary compliance agreements.
Last Updated: 2-26-21