[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 231 (Thursday, December 3, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63335-63336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28780]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Labor-Management Standards
29 CFR Parts 403 and 408
RIN 1215-AB75
Trust Annual Reports
AGENCY: Office of Labor-Management Standards, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of proposed extension of filing due date.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule seeks public comment on a proposal to delay
the filing due date of the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report. The Form T-1
is an annual financial disclosure report to be filed, pursuant to the
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), by labor unions
with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more about certain trusts in
which they are interested. Labor unions would use the Form T-1 to
disclose financial information about the trusts, such as assets,
liabilities, receipts, and disbursements. The Department established
the Form T-1 with a final rule published on October 2, 2008, 73 FR
57412 (Oct. 2, 2008), with an effective date of January 1, 2009.
Subsequently, the Department announced its intention to propose
withdrawal of the Form T-1 (Spring 2009 Regulatory Agenda). The
Department held a public meeting on July 21, 2009, and received
comments from interested parties concerning provisions of the Form T-1
and its proposed rescission. The Department now seeks comments on a
proposal to delay the filing due date of the initial Form T-1 reports,
pending the outcome of the Department's proposal to withdraw the
October 2, 2008 rule.
DATES: This proposed rule proposes to delay for one calendar year the
filing due dates for Form T-1 reports required to be filed during
calendar year 2010. The comment period on this proposal will close on
December 14, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 1215-AB75, only
by the following methods:
Internet--Federal eRulemaking Portal. Electronic comments may be
submitted through http://www.regulations.gov. To locate the proposed
rule, use key words such as ``Labor-Management Standards'' or ``Trust
Annual Reports'' to search documents accepting comments. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. Please be advised that comments
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
Delivery: Comments should be sent to: Denise M. Boucher, Director
of the Office of Policy, Reports and Disclosure, Office of Labor-
Management Standards, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room N-5609, Washington, DC 20210. Because of security
precautions the Department continues to experience delays in U.S. mail
delivery. You should take this into consideration when preparing to
meet the deadline for submitting comments.
The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) recommends that you
confirm receipt of your delivered comments by contacting (202) 693-0123
(this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with hearing impairments
may call (800) 877-8339 (TTY/TDD). Only those comments submitted
through http://www.regulations.gov, hand-delivered, or mailed will be
accepted. Comments will be available for public inspection at http://www.regulations.gov and during normal business hours at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise M. Boucher, Director, Office of
Policy, Reports and Disclosure, Office of Labor-Management Standards,
U.S.
[[Page 63336]]
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5609,
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-0123 (this is not a toll-free number),
(800) 877-8339 (TTY/TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 2, 2008, the Department of Labor,
Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), published a Final Rule
establishing the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report. 73 FR 57411. The Form
T-1 is an annual financial disclosure report to be filed by labor
unions about certain trusts in which they are interested. For an
organization or fund to be a labor union's trust subject to Form T-1
reporting, it must be established by the labor union or have a
governing body that includes at least one member appointed or selected
by the labor union, and a primary purpose of the trust must be to
provide benefits to the members of the labor union or their
beneficiaries. Examples of such trusts include building and
redevelopment corporations, educational institutes, credit unions,
labor union and employer joint funds, and job targeting funds. Labor
unions currently are required to disclose financial information about
the trust, such as assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements
through use of Form T-1.
Labor unions with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more (those
required to file Form LM-2, Labor Organization Annual Report) are
required to file the Form T-1 report. A labor union must file a Form T-
1 report for each trust where the labor union, alone or in combination
with other labor unions, appoints or selects a majority of the members
of the trust's governing board or the labor union's contribution to the
trust, alone or in combination with other labor unions, represents more
than 50% of the trust's receipts. Contributions by an employer under a
collective bargaining agreement are considered contributions by the
labor union.
The Form T-1 rule also provides that unions will not be required to
file a Form T-1 under certain circumstances, such as when the trust is
a political action committee, if publicly available reports on the
committee are filed with appropriate Federal or State agencies; an
independent audit has been conducted for the trust, in accordance with
standards set forth in the final rule; or the trust is required to file
a Form 5500 with the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
The Form T-1 final rule took effect on January 1, 2009. Filing due
dates depend on the fiscal year ending dates of both the reporting
union and the trust being reported. The fiscal year of both the labor
union and its trust must begin on or after January 1, 2009, for a Form
T-1 report to be owed, and the labor union must file any owed Form T-1
report within 90 days of the close of its own fiscal year. The earliest
Form T-1 reports are required of unions that have, and whose trusts
have, a fiscal year start date of January 1, 2009. These first Form T-1
reports are therefore due on or after January 1, 2010, but no later
than March 31, 2010.
In the Spring 2009 Regulatory Agenda, the Department notified the
public of its intent to initiate rulemaking proposing to rescind the
Form T-1 and to require reporting of wholly owned, wholly controlled,
and wholly financed (``subsidiary'') organizations on their Form LM-2
or LM-3 reports. See http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=200904&RIN=1215-AB75. Additionally, the
Department held a public meeting on July 21, 2009, which allowed
interested parties to comment on any aspect of the Form T-1. A draft
proposed rule to withdraw the October 2, 2008 Form T-1 rule is
currently under review by the Administration.
In view of its plan to propose rescission of the Form T-1 Trust
Annual Report, the Department now proposes to extend the filing due
dates of Form T-1 reports that would otherwise be due in 2010, pending
review and consideration of comments on the proposal to rescind.
Extension of the filing due dates will delay or eliminate the first
year recurring and nonrecurring burdens on labor organizations
associated with the reporting requirements of the Form T-1 rule,
pending the outcome of the proposed withdrawal. Without this proposal
to delay the filing date of the initial Form T-1 reports, many affected
labor organizations likely will incur the reporting costs and burdens
associated with filing the form, including the nonrecurring first year
costs and burdens associated with implementing the reporting system for
the Form T-1. In particular, the October 2, 2008 rule estimated that
unions would incur 41.20 hours in reporting burden per Form T-1 filed
during the first year of the rule's implementation, for a total first
year reporting burden of 128,978.11 hours. The estimated reporting cost
per form filed in the first year is $1,632.41, and the estimated
reporting cost in the first year for all projected Form T-1 filings is
$5,110,324.80. The Department notes that the first year burden is
higher than that in later years, which is estimated to be 28.28 hours
per form filed and 88,542.01 hours total. 73 FR 57444-5. If the
proposal to rescind the rule ultimately is effectuated, these expenses,
including upfront costs, will have been incurred unnecessarily.
This proposal to delay the filing dates for Form T-1 reports due in
2010 would not affect the filing due date of Form T-1 reports that
would be owed in any subsequent year. The Department's proposal would
not extend the filing due date of any Form T-1 report that normally
would be due during calendar year 2011 or beyond. Further, in the event
that the Department determines to retain the Form T-1 rule, the initial
Form T-1 reports that would have been due during 2010 must be filed in
2011, in addition to those Form T-1 reports normally due in 2011.
For the foregoing reasons, the Department has determined to propose
delay of the filing dates of Form T-1 reports due during calendar year
2010 and seeks comment on this proposal.
John Lund,
Director, Office of Labor-Management Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-28780 Filed 12-2-09; 8:45 am]
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