January 9, 2012
By Salvatore J. Armao
Now that the holidays are behind us and we are getting into the swing of things for 2012, it is time to focus on some of the government imposed filing deadlines to which we are subjected. One such filing requirement is Form LM-30.
According to the instructions for Form LM-30, “The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA or Act), requires public disclosure of certain financial transactions and financial interests of labor organization officers and employees and their spouses and minor children.”
Consequently, any officer or employee of a labor organization (other than an employee exclusively performing clerical or custodial services), as defined by LMRDA, must file Form LM-30 if, during the past fiscal year, the officer or employee, spouse, or minor child, either directly or indirectly, held any legal or equitable interest, received any payments, or engaged in transactions or arrangements, including loans.
What this means for most union officials is clear: They should reach out to any and all service providers who engaged in transactions with the union and or its collectively bargained employee benefit plans to determine if those service providers will be filing Form LM-10 with the Department of Labor to report benefits that were given to the union official.
The union official must determine what a service provider will report on the LM-10 so that he or she can file the LM-30 accurately. It is easy to forget a lunch or a golf game that may have taken place over the course of a year, so contacting service providers is imperative.
The value of what was received does not have to be the exact actual amount if that amount is unknown; a reasonable estimate can be used on Form LM-30. Additionally, payments or gifts totaling $250 or less from any one source need not be reported; payments or gifts valued at $20 or less are exempt from inclusion in determining whether the $250 threshold has been met.
The union official is required to sign Form LM-30 personally and is responsible for its filing and accuracy. Under LMRDA, this individual is subject to criminal penalties for willful failure to file a required report and/or for false reporting.
Form LM-30 must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor 90 days after the end of the calendar year for most individual union officials. There is no time to delay in the information gathering process.
For over 25 years, Armao, Costa & Ricciardi, CPAs, P.C., has been committed to providing accounting, auditing, tax, financial and wealth management and advisory services to labor unions and employee benefit funds. Visit us at www.acrcpa.com or call (516) 256-3200.
