Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tweet[IWS] OLMS: FINAL RULE IMPLEMENTING FORM T-1, TRUST ANNUAL REPORT [30 September 2008]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
FORM T-1 INFORMATION
http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1_intro.htm
On October 2, 2008, the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) will publish a Final Rule implementing the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report. The Form T-1 is an annual financial disclosure report filed by labor unions about certain "trusts" in which they are interested. These trusts include, for example, building and redevelopment corporations, educational institutes, credit unions, labor union and employer joint funds, and job targeting funds. Labor unions will use the Form T-1 to disclose financial information about the trust, such as assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements.
Not all labor unions with trusts will be required to file a Form T-1. Labor unions with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more will file this report. These are the labor unions that are currently required to file a "Form LM-2" labor union annual financial report.
For an organization or fund to be a labor union's trust, the organization or fund must meet the following conditions. 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. A primary purpose of the trust must be to provide benefits to the members of the labor union or their beneficiaries.
Not all labor union trusts are covered by the Form T-1 filing obligations. A labor union must file a report if one of the following conditions is met. 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 final rule will take effect on January 1, 2009. The fiscal year of both the labor union and its trust must therefore begin on or after January 1, 2009 for a Form T-1 report to be owed. The Form T-1 covers the trust's most recently completed fiscal year, that is, the fiscal year ending on or before the closing date of the labor union's fiscal year. The labor union must file the T-1 report within 90 days of the close of its fiscal year.
The following example illustrates how the Form T-1's effective date works. A labor union's fiscal year begins January 1, 2009 and ends December 31, 2009. Its trust's fiscal year begins on October 1, 2009 and ends September 30, 2010. The first fiscal year for which the labor union must file a Form T-1 is fiscal year January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. That report would be due 90 days later, on March 31, 2011. The T-1 report would cover the trust's October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010 fiscal year.
The 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 final rule enhances financial reporting and provides union members with more complete information about union finances. Additionally, it will better protect union members' rights to transparency and accountability under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA).
More Information
Form T-1 Final Rule < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/T1_FinalRule.pdf> PDF
Form T-1 Instructions < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/form_t1_instructions_0908.htm > HTML | < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/Form_T1_Instructions_0908.pdf > PDF
Facsimile of Form T-1 < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/T1_Facs_0908.pdf> PDF Note: The facsimile may not be used for filing Form T-1.
< http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1093008.pdf> Download Form T-1 Beta Filing Software This is beta software and may not be used for filing Form T-1. Users are encouraged to download the software, examine its functions and features, and provide comments to OLMS. OLMS will subsequently provide a version of the Form T-1 filing software that can be downloaded and used to submit the completed Form T-1.
Please DO NOT use Adobe Reader versions 8 or above to use Form T-1 beta filing software.
Labor organizations may choose to complete the Form T-1 by two methods: Data entry or electronic transfer. For electronic transfer, the Department has provided < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/dsd.htm> technical specifications to assist unions in converting their financial data into a format supported by the software.
< http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/dsd.htm> The Data Specifications Document (DSD) provides the specifications and guidance for developing formatted import files that can be imported or attached to the form.
The DSD will be used only by those unions that choose to create these import files. These data files may be imported directly into the form or imported into the form as attachments. Unions with large data files should import these files as attachments, rather than importing the data into the form. The attachment method significantly decreases the size, and enhances the manageability, of the form.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is prepared to offer compliance assistance to help filers create the file formats described in this document.
Fact Sheet: Filing Form T-1 < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1_FR_0908.htm> HTML | < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1_FR_0908.pdf> PDF
< http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/FormT1_093008.pps> Form T-1 PowerPoint Presentation: Filing Form T-1 - (PPS Format - 1MB). If you are unable to view PowerPoint presentations, download a free viewer from Microsoft, < http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&displaylang=en/&exitTitle=Microsoft&fedpage=no > here.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
FORM T-1 INFORMATION
http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1_intro.htm
On October 2, 2008, the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) will publish a Final Rule implementing the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report. The Form T-1 is an annual financial disclosure report filed by labor unions about certain "trusts" in which they are interested. These trusts include, for example, building and redevelopment corporations, educational institutes, credit unions, labor union and employer joint funds, and job targeting funds. Labor unions will use the Form T-1 to disclose financial information about the trust, such as assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements.
Not all labor unions with trusts will be required to file a Form T-1. Labor unions with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more will file this report. These are the labor unions that are currently required to file a "Form LM-2" labor union annual financial report.
For an organization or fund to be a labor union's trust, the organization or fund must meet the following conditions. 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. A primary purpose of the trust must be to provide benefits to the members of the labor union or their beneficiaries.
Not all labor union trusts are covered by the Form T-1 filing obligations. A labor union must file a report if one of the following conditions is met. 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 final rule will take effect on January 1, 2009. The fiscal year of both the labor union and its trust must therefore begin on or after January 1, 2009 for a Form T-1 report to be owed. The Form T-1 covers the trust's most recently completed fiscal year, that is, the fiscal year ending on or before the closing date of the labor union's fiscal year. The labor union must file the T-1 report within 90 days of the close of its fiscal year.
The following example illustrates how the Form T-1's effective date works. A labor union's fiscal year begins January 1, 2009 and ends December 31, 2009. Its trust's fiscal year begins on October 1, 2009 and ends September 30, 2010. The first fiscal year for which the labor union must file a Form T-1 is fiscal year January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. That report would be due 90 days later, on March 31, 2011. The T-1 report would cover the trust's October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010 fiscal year.
The 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 final rule enhances financial reporting and provides union members with more complete information about union finances. Additionally, it will better protect union members' rights to transparency and accountability under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA).
More Information
Form T-1 Final Rule < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/T1_FinalRule.pdf> PDF
Form T-1 Instructions < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/form_t1_instructions_0908.htm > HTML | < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/Form_T1_Instructions_0908.pdf > PDF
Facsimile of Form T-1 < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/T1_Facs_0908.pdf> PDF Note: The facsimile may not be used for filing Form T-1.
< http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1093008.pdf> Download Form T-1 Beta Filing Software This is beta software and may not be used for filing Form T-1. Users are encouraged to download the software, examine its functions and features, and provide comments to OLMS. OLMS will subsequently provide a version of the Form T-1 filing software that can be downloaded and used to submit the completed Form T-1.
Please DO NOT use Adobe Reader versions 8 or above to use Form T-1 beta filing software.
Labor organizations may choose to complete the Form T-1 by two methods: Data entry or electronic transfer. For electronic transfer, the Department has provided < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/dsd.htm> technical specifications to assist unions in converting their financial data into a format supported by the software.
< http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/dsd.htm> The Data Specifications Document (DSD) provides the specifications and guidance for developing formatted import files that can be imported or attached to the form.
The DSD will be used only by those unions that choose to create these import files. These data files may be imported directly into the form or imported into the form as attachments. Unions with large data files should import these files as attachments, rather than importing the data into the form. The attachment method significantly decreases the size, and enhances the manageability, of the form.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is prepared to offer compliance assistance to help filers create the file formats described in this document.
Fact Sheet: Filing Form T-1 < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1_FR_0908.htm> HTML | < http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/t1_FR_0908.pdf> PDF
< http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms/regs/compliance/FormT1_093008.pps> Form T-1 PowerPoint Presentation: Filing Form T-1 - (PPS Format - 1MB). If you are unable to view PowerPoint presentations, download a free viewer from Microsoft, < http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&displaylang=en/&exitTitle=Microsoft&fedpage=no > here.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 10:42 AM
