New DOL Union Finance Rules Delayed

In the last Journal (“Christmas Coal from the Bush Administration”),
it was reported that in October the Department of Labor (DOL) had issued a new set of costly, burdensome financial reporting requirements for unions that were to go into effect January 1, 2004. Many believe the requirements are a thinly disguised political slap in the face to unions by the Bush Administration, which is eager to gain unprecedented access to detailed union financial records.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that unions need more time to prepare for and comply with the new regulations, but that DOL had not acted arbitrarily in issuing the new rule.

As a result of the ruling, DOL must wait until at least July 2004 to make the new rule effective. BAC Secretary-Treasurer James Boland commented, “Unions are being persecuted while businesses run roughshod over this Administration.”