Union Transparency and Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1129 To ensure labor organization transparency and accountability. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 8, 2019 Mr. ROONEY of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To ensure labor organization transparency and accountability. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Union Transparency 4 and Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 6 Section 208 of the Labor-Management Reporting and 7 Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 438) is amended— 8 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 9 ‘‘(a) The Secretary’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1129 IH ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) and for each fis- 1 cal year, a labor organization that would be required to 2 file form LM–2 under part 403 of title 29, Code of Fed- 3 eral Regulations, under section 201(a) (as such part was 4 in effect on October 12, 2009) shall be required to annu- 5 ally file with the Secretary— 6 ‘‘(1) form LM–2, as published in the appendix 7 to the final rule issued by the Secretary of Labor en- 8 titled ‘Labor Organization Annual Financial Re- 9 ports’ (74 Fed. Reg. 3678 (January 21, 2009)); or 10 ‘‘(2) a successor form that includes all of the 11 information required in such form LM–2 (as such 12 form was published on January 21, 2009). 13 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) and for each fis- 14 cal year, a labor organization that would be required to 15 file form T–1 under part 403 of title 29, Code of Federal 16 Regulations (as such part was in effect on November 30, 17 2010) shall file with the Secretary, as the report con- 18 cerning trusts in which a labor organization is inter- 19 ested— 20 ‘‘(1) form T–1, as published in the appendix to 21 the final rule issued by the Secretary entitled ‘Labor 22 Organization Annual Financial Reports for Trusts 23 in Which a Labor Organization Is Interested, Form 24 T–1’ (73 Fed. Reg. 57412 (October 2, 2008)); or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1129 IH ‘‘(2) a successor form that includes all of the 1 information required in such form T–1 (as such 2 form was published on October 2, 2008). 3 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) and for each fis- 4 cal year, an officer or employee of a labor organization 5 who would be required to file form LM–30 under part 404 6 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as such part was 7 in effect on October 25, 2011) shall be required to file 8 with the Secretary— 9 ‘‘(1) form LM–30, as published in the appendix 10 to the final rule issued by the Secretary entitled 11 ‘Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report, 12 Form LM–30’ (72 Fed. Reg. 36106 (July 2, 2007)); 13 or 14 ‘‘(2) a successor form that includes all of the 15 information required in such form LM–30 (as such 16 form was published on July 2, 2007).’’. 17 SEC. 3. CIVIL FINES RELATING TO DISCLOSURE VIOLA- 18 TIONS. 19 (a) CIVIL FINES FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFOR- 20 MATION TO MEMBERS.—Section 201 of the Labor-Man- 21 agement Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 22 431) is amended— 23 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub- 24 section (c)(1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1129 IH (2) by inserting after such subsection (c)(1) the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(2) Any labor organization that fails to meet the re- 3 quirements of paragraph (1) with respect to a member, 4 by refusing to make available the information required to 5 be contained in a report required to be submitted under 6 this title, and any books, records, and accounts necessary 7 to verify such report (unless such failure or refusal results 8 from matters reasonably beyond the control of the labor 9 organization), may in the court’s discretion, and in addi- 10 tion to any other relief provided by law and determined 11 proper by the court, be liable to such member for an 12 amount that is not more than $250 a day from the date 13 of such failure or refusal (except that such amount shall 14 be adjusted for inflation in the same manner as the Sec- 15 retary adjusts the amount of a civil fine under section 16 211(c)). For purposes of this paragraph, each violation 17 with respect to any single member shall be treated as a 18 separate violation.’’. 19 (b) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT FOR FAILURE TO FILE A 20 TIMELY REPORT.—Section 210 of the Labor-Management 21 Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 440) 22 is amended to read as follows: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1129 IH ‘‘SEC. 210. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever it shall appear that 2 any person has violated or is about to violate any of the 3 provisions of this title, or section 301(a), the Secretary 4 may bring a civil action for such relief, including an in- 5 junction or the enforcement of a civil fine imposed under 6 section 211, as may be appropriate. Any such action may 7 be brought in the district court of the United States where 8 the violation occurred or in the United States District 9 Court for the District of Columbia. 10 ‘‘(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR ENFORCEMENT OF 11 CIVIL FINES.— 12 ‘‘(1) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—Upon a com- 13 plaint filed by the Secretary seeking the enforcement 14 of a civil fine, the appropriate district court shall im- 15 pose the civil fine that has been determined to be 16 appropriate by the Secretary— 17 ‘‘(A) if the person, labor organization, or 18 employer against whom the civil fine is sought 19 has been provided written notice and an oppor- 20 tunity to be heard before the Secretary or a 21 designee of such Secretary, in accordance with 22 procedures established by the Secretary under 23 section 211(g)(1); and 24 ‘‘(B) unless the Secretary’s determination 25 is shown to be arbitrary and capricious. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1129 IH ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—The appropriate 1 court shall not consider any objection or argument 2 that was not raised in the proceedings before the 3 Secretary. 4 ‘‘(c) APPROPRIATENESS OF INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 5 Upon a complaint filed by the Secretary seeking relief 6 under this section demonstrating that a person, labor or- 7 ganization, or employer has failed to file timely and com- 8 plete reports required by this title or section 301(a), or 9 has filed reports that are substantially incomplete or inac- 10 curate, or that information required to be reported may 11 be lost or destroyed absent such relief, the district court 12 shall issue an order enjoining continued violation of this 13 title or section 301(a). Injunctive relief may be awarded 14 in addition to any other additional civil or criminal remedy 15 and whether or not the Secretary seeks enforcement of a 16 civil fine.’’. 17 (c) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE CIVIL FINES.—Title II 18 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act 19 of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended— 20 (1) by redesignating section 211 as section 212; 21 and 22 (2) by inserting after section 210 the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1129 IH ‘‘SEC. 211. CIVIL FINES. 1 ‘‘(a) NOTICE; CORRECTION PERIOD.—Upon finding 2 a violation of subsection (a) or (b) of section 201 or sec- 3 tion 202, 203, 207, 212, or 301(a), the Secretary shall, 4 in accordance with standards and procedures established 5 by the Secretary under subsection (g), provide the person, 6 labor organization, or employer responsible for such viola- 7 tion— 8 ‘‘(1) written notice of the violation; and 9 ‘‘(2) a period of time to correct the violation 10 that is not more than 30 days after the date that 11 the Secretary provides such written notice. 12 ‘‘(b) FINES ASSESSED.—Subject to the other provi- 13 sions of this section, if the Secretary determines that a 14 person, labor organization, or employer has violated sub- 15 section (a) or (b) of section 201 or section 202, 203, 207, 16 212, or 301(a) and has not corrected the violation within 17 the period described in subsection (a)(2), the Secretary 18 may assess a civil fine against the person, labor organiza- 19 tion, or employer responsible for such violation. 20 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF CIVIL FINE.— 21 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A civil fine under 22 this section shall be for an amount that is not more 23 than $250 a day from the date of the violation, and 24 not more than $45,000 in the aggregate, except that 25 such amounts shall be adjusted in accordance with 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1129 IH the inflation adjustment procedures prescribed in the 1 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note; Public Law 101–410). 3 ‘‘(2) FACTORS IN DETERMINING AMOUNT.—In 4 determining the amount of a civil fine under this 5 section, the Secretary may consider— 6 ‘‘(A) the gravity of the offense; 7 ‘‘(B) any history of prior offenses (includ- 8 ing offenses occurring before the date of enact- 9 ment of this section) of the person, labor orga- 10 nization, or employer responsible for such viola- 11 tion; 12 ‘‘(C) the ability of such person, labor orga- 13 nization, or employer to pay the civil fine with- 14 out material impairment of the ability to carry 15 out representational functions or honor other fi- 16 nancial obligations; 17 ‘‘(D) any injury to uninvolved members of 18 the labor organization or to the public; 19 ‘‘(E) any benefits to such person, labor or- 20 ganization, or employer resulting from such vio- 21 lation; 22 ‘‘(F) the ability of the civil fine to deter fu- 23 ture such violations; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1129 IH ‘‘(G) any other factors that the Secretary 1 may determine to be appropriate to further the 2 purposes of this Act. 3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—A person, labor organization, or 4 employer shall not be required to pay a civil fine under 5 this section for a violation of subsection (a) or (b) of sec- 6 tion 201 or section 202, 203, 207, 212, or 301(a) for 7 which a material cause was reasonably beyond the control 8 of such person, labor organization, or employer. 9 ‘‘(e) INCOMPLETE REPORTS.—A report rejected by 10 the Secretary as incomplete shall be considered not filed 11 for purposes of determining the existence of a violation 12 of subsection (a) or (b) of section 201 or section 202, 203, 13 207, 212, or 301(a), and a civil fine may be assessed for 14 such violation. 15 ‘‘(f) EFFECT ON CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—The impo- 16 sition of a civil fine under this section shall not affect the 17 availability of criminal sanctions against any person, labor 18 organization, or employer who knowingly or willfully vio- 19 lates a provision of this Act. 20 ‘‘(g) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 22 lish, pursuant to sections 208 and 606, standards 23 and procedures governing the imposition of a civil 24 fine under this section that include providing the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1129 IH person, labor organization, or employer responsible 1 for an alleged violation of subsection (a) or (b) of 2 section 201 or section 202, 203, 207, 212, or 301(a) 3 with— 4 ‘‘(A) written notice of such violation; and 5 ‘‘(B) an opportunity for a hearing before 6 the Secretary or a designee of such Secretary. 7 ‘‘(2) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After exhausting all 9 administrative remedies established by the Sec- 10 retary under paragraph (1), a person, labor or- 11 ganization, or employer against whom the Sec- 12 retary has imposed a civil fine under this sec- 13 tion may obtain a review of such fine in the 14 United States District Court where the viola- 15 tion occurred or in the United States District 16 Court for the District of Columbia, by filing in 17 such court, within 30 days of the entry of a 18 final order imposing the civil fine, a written pe- 19 tition that the Secretary’s order or determina- 20 tion be modified or be set aside in whole or in 21 part. 22 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—Upon peti- 23 tion for review of a civil fine under this section, 24 the appropriate district court shall impose the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1129 IH civil fine determined to be appropriate by the 1 Secretary— 2 ‘‘(i) if the person, labor organization, 3 or employer against whom the civil fine is 4 sought has been provided written notice 5 and an opportunity to be heard, in accord- 6 ance with the procedures established by the 7 Secretary under paragraph (1); and 8 ‘‘(ii) unless the Secretary’s determina- 9 tion is shown to be arbitrary and capri- 10 cious. 11 ‘‘(C) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In reviewing a 12 civil fine under this section, the appropriate dis- 13 trict court shall not consider any objection or 14 argument that was not raised in the pro- 15 ceedings before the Secretary. 16 ‘‘(h) SETTLEMENT BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary 17 may compromise, modify, or remit any civil fine that may 18 be, or has been, imposed under this section.’’. 19 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 20 The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 21 1959 (29 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) is further amended— 22 (1) in section 205 (29 U.S.C. 435), by striking 23 ‘‘211’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘212’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:25 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1129.IH H1129 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1129 IH (2) in section 207(b) (29 U.S.C. 437(b)), by 1 striking ‘‘211’’ each place it appears and inserting 2 ‘‘212’’; and 3 (3) in section 301(b) (29 U.S.C. 461(b [Text truncated for display. 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