[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2878 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2878

 To amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to 
 provide for specified civil penalties for violations of that Act, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 17, 2008

 Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Bunning, Mr. DeMint, Mrs. 
    Dole, Mr. Graham, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. 
   Sessions) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to 
 provide for specified civil penalties for violations of that Act, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Labor Management Reporting and 
Disclosure Enforcement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO 
              MEMBERS.

    Section 201 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 
1959 (29 U.S.C. 431), is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (c)(1); 
        and
            (2) by inserting thereafter the following:
    ``(2) Any labor organization that fails to meet the requirements of 
paragraph (1) with respect to a member, by refusing to make available 
the information required to be contained in a report required to be 
submitted under this subchapter, and any books, records, and accounts 
necessary to verify such report (unless such failure or refusal results 
from matters reasonably beyond the control of the labor organization) 
may in the court's discretion, and in addition to any other relief 
provided by law, be liable to such member in the amount of up to $250 a 
day from the date of such failure or refusal, and the court may in its 
discretion order such other relief as it deems proper. For purposes of 
this paragraph, each violation with respect to any single member shall 
be treated as a separate violation.''.

SEC. 3. CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO FILE A TIMELY REPORT.

    Section 210 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 
1959 (29 U.S.C. 440) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 210. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--Whenever it shall appear that any person has 
violated or is about to violate any of the provisions of this title, or 
section 301(a), the Secretary may bring a civil action for such relief, 
including an injunction and enforcement of administrative penalties 
imposed pursuant to section 211, as may be appropriate. Any such action 
may be brought in the district court of the United States where the 
violation occurred or in the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia.
    ``(b) Scope of Review.--Upon a complaint filed by the Secretary 
seeking relief under this section, the district court shall impose the 
civil money penalty that has been determined to be appropriate by the 
Secretary provided the person, labor organization, or employer against 
whom the relief is sought has been given written notice and afforded an 
opportunity to be heard before the Secretary or a designee under 
procedures established by the Secretary pursuant to section 211. Such 
penalty shall not be imposed by the court if the Secretary's 
determination is shown to be arbitrary and capricious. The court shall 
not consider any objection or argument that was not raised in the 
proceedings before the Secretary.
    ``(c) Appropriateness of Injunctive Relief.--Upon a complaint filed 
by the Secretary seeking relief under this section demonstrating that a 
person, labor organization, or employer has failed to file timely and 
complete reports required by the statute, or has filed reports that are 
substantially incomplete or inaccurate, or that information required to 
be reported may be lost or destroyed absent such relief, the district 
court shall issue an order enjoining continued violation of this title. 
Injunctive relief may be awarded in addition to any other additional 
civil or criminal remedy and whether or not the Secretary seeks 
enforcement of an administratively imposed civil money penalty.''.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.

    Title II of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 
1959 (29 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 211 as section 212; and
            (2) by inserting after section 210 the following:

``SEC. 211. CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, upon finding a violation of 
section 201(a), 201(b), 202, 203, 207, 212, or 301(a), may assess 
against the person, labor organization or employer responsible for such 
violation a civil money penalty of up to $250 a day from the date of 
the violation. The amount of this penalty shall be adjusted in 
accordance with the inflation adjustment procedures prescribed in the 
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended.
    ``(b) Limitation.--No person, labor organization or employer shall 
be required to pay a penalty under this paragraph for any violation a 
material cause of which was reasonably beyond the control of that 
person, labor organization or employer.
    ``(c) Incomplete Reports.--A report rejected by the Secretary as 
incomplete shall be considered not filed for purposes of determining 
whether there has been a violation of section 201(a), 201(b), 202, 203, 
207, 212, or 301(a) and a penalty may be assessed for such a violation.
    ``(d) Maximum Penalty.--A penalty imposed for a violation under 
this section, as determined by the Secretary, may not exceed $250 a day 
or $10,000 in aggregate, as adjusted in accordance with the inflation 
adjustment procedures prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended.
    ``(e) Effect on Criminal Penalties.--The imposition of civil money 
penalties under this section shall not affect the availability of 
criminal sanctions against any person who knowingly or willfully 
violates a provision of this Act.
    ``(f) Administrative Procedures.--The Secretary shall establish 
standards and procedures governing the imposition of civil money 
penalties under subsection (a). Such standards and procedures shall--
            ``(1) provide for written notice to the person or entity 
        alleged to have violated section 201(a), 201(b), 202, 203, 207, 
        212, or 301(a) and an opportunity to be heard before the 
        Secretary or a designee; and
            ``(2) be established by the Secretary pursuant to sections 
        208 and 606.
    ``(g) Factors in Determining Amount of Penalty.--In determining the 
amount of a penalty under subsection (a), consideration may be given to 
such factors as the gravity of the offense, any history of prior 
offenses (including offenses occurring before enactment of this 
section), ability to pay the penalty without material impairment of the 
ability to carry out representational functions or to honor other 
financial obligations, injury to uninvolved members of the labor 
organization, injury to the public, benefits received from the 
violation, deterrence of future violations, and such other factors as 
the Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
    ``(h) Judicial Review.--
            ``(1) In general.--After exhausting all administrative 
        remedies established by the Secretary under subsection (f), a 
        person, labor organization, or employer against whom the 
        Secretary has imposed a civil money penalty under subsection 
        (a) may obtain a review of the penalty in the United States 
        District Court where the violation occurred or in the United 
        States District Court for the District of Columbia, by filing 
        in such court, within 30 days of the entry of a final order 
        imposing such a penalty, a written petition that the 
        Secretary's order or determination be modified or be set aside 
        in whole or in part.
            ``(2) Standard.--Upon petition for review of a penalty by a 
        party against whom such a penalty has been ordered, the 
        district court shall impose the civil money penalty determined 
        to be appropriate by the Secretary, provided the person, labor 
        organization, or employer against whom the relief is sought has 
        been given written notice and afforded an opportunity to be 
        heard before the Secretary or a designee under procedures 
        established by the Secretary pursuant to section 211, unless 
        the Secretary's determination is shown to be arbitrary and 
        capricious. The court shall not consider any objection or 
        argument that was not raised before the Secretary.
    ``(i) Settlement by Secretary.--The Secretary may compromise, 
modify, or remit any civil money penalty that may be, or has been, 
imposed under this section.''.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 is 
further amended--
            (1) in section 205 (29 U.S.C. 435), by striking ``211'' 
        each place it appears and inserting ``212'';
            (2) in section 207(b) (29 U.S.C. 437(b)), by striking 
        ``211'' each place it appears and inserting ``212''; and
            (3) in section 301(b) (29 U.S.C. 461(b)), by striking ``and 
        210'' and inserting ``210 and 211''.
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