lm-20_instructions

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 22 minutes per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing
the collection of information. Persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB
control number. Reporting of this information is mandatory and is required by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure
Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA), for the purpose of public disclosure. As this is public information, there are no assurances of
confidentiality. If you have any comments regarding this estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, please send them to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards,
Room N-5609, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.

DO NOT SEND YOUR COMPLETED FORM LM-20 TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FORM LM-20
AGREEMENT AND ACTIVITIES
REPORT
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
I.

also when he/she agrees to perform the activity
or to have them performed.

WHY FILE

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure
Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA), requires public
disclosure of agreements or arrangements made
between any person, including labor relations
consultants and other individuals and organizations,
and an employer to undertake certain activities
concerning employees or labor organizations.
Pursuant to Section 203(b) of the LMRDA, every
person who undertakes any such activities under an
agreement or arrangement with an employer must
file a detailed report with the Secretary of Labor.
The Secretary, under the authority of the LMRDA,
has prescribed the filing of the Agreement and
Activities Report, Form LM-20, to satisfy this
reporting requirement.

A “direct or indirect party” to an agreement or
arrangement includes (1) persons who have
secured the services of another or of others in
connection with an agreement or arrangement of
the type referred to in Section 203(b) of the
LMRDA, and (2) persons who have undertaken
activities at the behest of another or of others with
knowledge or reason to believe that they are
undertaken as a result of an agreement or
arrangement between an employer and any other
person. However, bona fide regular officers,
supervisors, or employees of an employer are
exempt from this reporting requirement to the
extent that the services they undertook to perform
were undertaken as such bona fide regular
officers, supervisors, or employees of their
employer.

These reporting requirements of the LMRDA and of
the regulations and forms issued under the Act only
relate to the disclosure of specific agreements,
arrangements, and/or activities. The reporting
requirements do not address whether such
agreements, arrangements, or activities are lawful
or unlawful. The fact that a particular agreement,
arrangement, or activity is or is not required to be
reported does or does not indicate whether it is or is
not subject to any legal prohibition.

NOTE: Selected definitions from the LMRDA
follow these instructions.
III. WHAT MUST BE REPORTED
The information required to be reported on Form
LM-20, as set forth in the form and the
instructions below, includes (1) the party or
parties to the agreement or arrangement, (2) the
object and terms and conditions of the agreement
or arrangement, and (3) the activities performed
or to be performed pursuant to the agreement or
arrangement.

II. WHO MUST FILE
Any person who, as a direct or indirect party to
any agreement or arrangement with an employer,
undertakes, pursuant to the agreement or
arrangement, any activity of the type described in
Section 203(b) of the LMRDA must file a Form
LM-20. A “person” is defined by the LMRDA
Section 3(d) to include, among others, labor
relations consultants and other individuals and
organizations. A person “undertakes” activities
not only when he/she performs the activity but

Any person required to file Form LM-20 must also
file Form LM-21, Receipts and Disbursements
Report. You must file Form LM-21 for each fiscal
year during which you made or received
payments as a result of any agreement or
arrangement described in Form LM-20. You
must file Form LM-21 within 90 days after the end
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VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES AND PENALTIES

of your fiscal year.

The individual(s) required to sign Form LM-20 are
personally responsible for its filing and accuracy.
Under the LMRDA, these individuals are subject
to criminal penalties for willful failure to file a
required report and/or for false reporting. False
reporting includes making any false statement or
misrepresentation of a material fact while
knowing it to be false, or for knowingly failing to
disclose a material fact in a required report or in
the information required to be contained in it or in
any information required to be submitted with it.

NOTE: A separate Form LM-20 must be filed for
each agreement or arrangement the filer makes with
an employer to undertake any activity of the type set
forth in LMRDA Section 203(b).
IV. WHO MUST SIGN THE REPORT
Both the president and the treasurer, or the
corresponding principal officers, of the reporting
organization must sign the completed Form LM-20.
A report from a sole proprietor or an individual on
his/her own behalf need only bear one signature.

The reporting individual(s), and the reporting
organization if any, are also subject to civil
prosecution for violations of the filing
requirements. According to Section 210 of the
LMRDA, “whenever it shall appear that any
person has violated or is about to violate any of
the provisions of this title, the Secretary may
bring a civil action for such relief (including
injunctions) as may be appropriate.”

V. WHEN TO FILE
Each person who has entered into any agreement
or arrangement to undertake activities described in
the form and instructions must file the report within
30 days after entering into such agreement or
arrangement. You must file any changes to the
information reported in Form LM-20 (excluding
matters related to Item 11.c.) in a report clearly
marked “Amended Report” within 30 days of the
change.

IX. RECORDKEEPING
The individual(s) required to file Form LM-20 are
responsible for maintaining records that will
provide in sufficient detail the information and
data necessary to verify the accuracy and
completeness of the report. You must retain the
records for at least 5 years after the date you filed
the report. You must retain any record necessary
to verify, explain, or clarify the report, including,
but not limited to vouchers, worksheets, receipts,
and applicable resolutions.

VI. HOW TO FILE
The Form LM-20 must be completed and submitted
electronically via the Office of Labor-Management
Standards (OLMS) Electronic Forms System (EFS),
available on the OLMS website at
www.dol.gov/olms. If you must file an amended
report, follow the prompts within EFS.
NOTE: Upon registering with OLMS, the signatories
and preparers must enter the email addresses they
use to conduct consultant business in order to file
the form via the OLMS Electronic Forms System.
While the email addresses will not appear on the
report, OLMS may use the email address of the
signatories and any preparers to contact the
consultant concerning LMRDA compliance.

X. COMPLETING FORM LM-20
Read the instructions carefully before completing
Form LM-20.
The Form LM-20 must be completed and
submitted electronically. You may click on the
“Validate” button at any time to check for errors.
This action will generate an “Errors Page” listing
any errors that will need to be corrected before
you will be able to sign the form.

If you have difficulty navigating the software, or
have questions about its functions and features, call
the OLMS Help Desk at: (866) 401-1109. For
questions concerning the reporting requirements,
please send an email to [email protected] or
call (202) 693-0123.

Clicking on the signature lines will also perform
the validation function.

VII. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

FILE NUMBER, PERSON FILING (ITEMS 1 – 5)

Pursuant to the LMRDA, the U.S. Department of
Labor is required to make all submitted reports
available for public inspection. Reports may be
viewed and downloaded from the OLMS Website at
www.unionreports.gov. For assistance, please
email [email protected] or call (202) 693-0123.

1. FILE NUMBER—The software will enter the
five-digit file number assigned by OLMS for the
reporting individual or organization here and at the
top of each page of Form LM-20. If the number is
incorrect or you do not have the number on file, and
you have previously filed a Form LM-20, you can

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review a past report to obtain your file number.
Please visit the OLMS Online Public Disclosure
Room and select “View Other Reports”. You will
have the option to select your consultant's name
or organization from the drop-down menu. This
menu contains all the individuals and organizations
that have filed labor relations consultant reports.

(2) To supply the employer with information
concerning activities of employees or a labor
organization in connection with a labor
dispute involving such employer.
(Excluded are agreements or arrangements that
covers services relating exclusively to supplying
the employer with information for use only in
conjunction with an administrative, arbitral, or
judicial proceeding.)

If you cannot obtain your file number from past
reports, the number can be obtained at
www.unionreports.gov, emailing OLMS at [email protected], or calling OLMS at (202) 693-0123.

NOTE: The exclusions set forth above are
applicable only to an agreement or arrangement
which covers no activities reportable under
LMRDA Section 203(b). If the agreement or
arrangement provides for any reportable activity,
you must report the information required for the
entire agreement or arrangement.

2. NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS—Enter the
full legal name of the reporting individual or
organization, a trade or commercial name, if
applicable (such as a d/b/a or “doing business as”
name), the name and title of the person to whom
mail should be directed, and the complete address
where mail should be sent and received, including
any building and room number.

While Section 203 of the LMRDA does not amend
or modify the rights protected by Section 8(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended
(NLRA), the LMRDA contains no provision
exempting the activities protected by that section
from the reporting requirements. Therefore,
activities of the type set forth in Section 203(b) of
the LMRDA must be reported regardless of
whether they are protected by Section 8(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended
(NLRA).

3. OTHER ADDRESSES WHERE RECORDS
ARE AVAILABLE—If you maintain any of the
records necessary to verify this report at an address
different from the address listed in Item 2, enter the
appropriate name and address in Item 3.
4. DATE OF FISCAL YEAR END—Enter the
month and day on which the fiscal year ends for the
reporting individual or organization.

NOTE: The text of NLRA Section 8(c) is set forth
following these instructions.

5. TYPE OF PERSON—If the person reporting is
an individual, partnership or corporation, so indicate.
If none of the choices apply, enter OTHER and
specify.

NATURE OF AGREEMENT OR
ARRANGEMENT (ITEMS 6 – 10)
6. FULL NAME AND ADDRESS OF
EMPLOYER—Enter the full legal name of the
employer with whom you made the agreement or
arrangement, a trade or commercial name, if
applicable (such as a d/b/a or “doing business as”
name), the name of the person to whom mail
should be directed, and the complete address
where mail should be sent and received,
including any building and room number.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR AGREEMENTS,
ARRANGEMENTS, AND ACTIVITIES
You must file a separate report for each agreement
or arrangement made with an employer to where
the object is, directly or indirectly:
(1) To persuade employees to exercise or not to
exercise, or to persuade them as to the manner
of exercising, the right to organize and bargain
collectively through representatives of their
choice. (Excluded are agreements or
arrangements that cover services relating
exclusively to: (1) advising the employer; (2)
representing the employer before any court,
administrative agency, or tribunal of arbitration,
and (3) engaging in collective bargaining on the
employer’s behalf with respect to wages, hours,
or other terms or conditions of employment or
the negotiation of any agreement or any
questions arising under the agreement.)

7. DATE OF AGREEMENT OR
ARRANGEMENT—Enter the month, day and
year you entered into the agreement or
arrangement.
8. NAMES OF PERSONS THROUGH WHOM
MADE—Enter the name of each person who
participated for the employer in making the
arrangement or agreement, whether that person
is an individual employer, partner, corporate
officer, employee, or other person acting for the
employer.

or

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SIGNATURES

9. OBJECT OF ACTIVITIES—Check the
appropriate box(es) indicating whether the object or
purpose of the agreement or arrangement is to,
directly or indirectly, persuade employees as to
exercising their bargaining rights or to supply an
employer with information related to a labor dispute.
You must check either one or both of the boxes.

13-14. SIGNATURES—The completed Form LM20, which is filed with OLMS, must be signed
electronically by both the president and treasurer,
or corresponding principal officers, of the
reporting organization. A report from an
individual or a sole proprietor, on his/her own
behalf, need only bear one signature which you
should enter in Item 13.

10. TERMS AND CONDITIONS—Provide a
detailed explanation of the terms and conditions of
the agreement or arrangement. If any agreement or
arrangement is in whole or in part contained in a
written contract, memorandum, letter, or other
written instrument, or has been otherwise wholly or
partially reduced to writing, you must refer to that
document and attach a copy of the writing to this
report.

Otherwise, this report must bear two (2)
signatures. If the report is from an organization
and is signed by an officer other than the
president and/or treasurer, so indicate by entering
the correct title in the title field next to the
signature. Then you must Save and revalidate
the form. Once the form has passed validation,
then you must click to sign the report.

SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED
(ITEMS 11-12)

Electronically submitted forms must be signed
using a PIN and password combination. To
electronically sign the form, click the signature
spaces provided. Enter the date the report was
signed and the telephone number at which the
signatories conduct official business; you do not
have to report a private, unlisted telephone
number.

11. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES—For each
activity to be performed, give a detailed explanation
of the following:
11.a. Nature of Activity. Describe the nature of the
activity to be performed. For example, if the object
of the activity is to persuade the employees of
Employer X to vote “no” on a representation
election, so state.

NOTE: Upon registering with OLMS, the
signatories and preparers must enter the email
addresses they use to conduct consultant
business in order to file the form via the OLMS
Electronic Forms System. While the email
addresses will not appear on the report, OLMS
may use the email address of the signatories and
any preparers to contact the consultant
concerning LMRDA compliance.

11.b. Duration of Performance. Describe the period
during which the activity will be performed. For
example, if the performance will begin in June 2003
and terminate in August 2003, so indicate by
stating, “June 2003 – August 2003”.
11.c. Extent of Performance. Indicate the extent to
which the activity has been performed. For
example, you should indicate whether the activity is
pending, ongoing, or near completion, or has been
completed.

SELECTED DEFINITIONS AND RELATED
PROVISIONS OF THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT
REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959,
AS AMENDED (LMRDA)

11.d. Name(s) and Address(es) of person(s)
through whom the activity was performed. Enter the
full legal name(s) and address(es) of the person(s)
through whom the activity is to be or has been
performed.

Section 3.
(a) ‘Commerce’ means trade, traffic, commerce,
transportation, transmission, or communication
among the several States or between any State
and any place outside thereof.

12. SUBJECT GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES
AND/OR LABOR ORGANIZATIONS—Identify the
subject groups of employees and/or labor
organizations are to be persuaded or concerning
whose activities information is to be supplied to the
employer.

(b) ‘State’ includes any State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Wake
Island, the Canal Zone, and Outer Continental
Shelf’ Lands defined in the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.1331-1343).

12.a. Identify the subject groups of employee(s).
12.b. Identify the subject labor organization(s).

(c) ‘Industry affecting commerce' means any
activity, business or industry in commerce or in

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which a labor dispute could hinder or obstruct
commerce or the free flow of commerce an includes
any activity or Industry 'affecting commerce' within
the meaning of the Labor-Management Relations
Act, 1947, as amended or the Railway Labor Act, as
amended.

labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours or
other terms or conditions of employment, and any
conference, general committee, joint or system
board, or joint council so engaged which is
subordinate to a national or international labor
organization, other than a State or local central
body.

(d) ‘Person' includes one or more individuals, labor
organizations, partnerships, associations,
corporations, legal representatives, mutual
companies, joint-stock companies, trusts,
unincorporated organization, trustees, trustees in
cases under Title 11 of the United States Code, or
receivers.

(j) A labor organization shall be deemed to be
engaged in an industry affecting commerce if
it—
1. is the certified representative of
employees under the provisions of the
National Labor Relations Act, as
amended, or the Railway Labor Act, as
amended; or

(e) ‘Employer’ means any employer or any group or
association of employers engaged in an industry
affecting commerce (1) which is, with respect to
employees engaged in an industry affecting
commerce, an employer within the meaning of any
law of the United States relating to the employment
of any employees or (2) which may deal with any
labor organization concerning grievances, labor
disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment,
or conditions of work, and includes any person
acting directly or indirectly as an employer or as an
agent of an employer in relation to an employee but
does not include the United States or any
corporation wholly owned by the Government of the
United States or any State or political subdivision
thereof.

2. although not certified, is a national or
international labor organization or a local
labor organization recognized or acting
as the representative of employees of an
employer or employers engaged in an
industry affecting commerce; or

3. has chartered a local labor organization

or subsidiary body which is representing
or actively seeking to represent
employees of employers within the
meaning of paragraph (1) or (2); or

4. has been chartered by a labor
organization representing or actively
seeking to represent employees within
the meaning of paragraph (1) or (2) as
the local or subordinate body through
which such employees may enjoy
membership or become affiliated with
such labor organization; or

(f) ‘Employee’ means any individual employed by
an employer, and includes any individual whose
work has ceased as a consequence of, or in
connection with, any current labor dispute or
because of any unfair labor practice or because of
exclusion or expulsion from a labor organization in
any manner or for any reason inconsistent with the
requirements of this Act.

5. is a conference, general committee, and
joint or system board or joint council,
subordinate to a national or international
labor organization, which includes a labor
organization engaged in an industry
affecting commerce within the meaning of
any of the preceding paragraphs of this
subsection, other than a State or local
central body.

(g) ‘Labor dispute’ includes any controversy
concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of
employment, or concerning the association or
representation of persons in negotiating, fixing,
maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms
or conditions of employment, regardless of whether
the disputants stand in the proximate relation of
employer and employee.

Section 203.

(i) ‘Labor organization’ means a labor
organization engaged in an industry affecting
commerce and includes any organization of any
kind, any agency, or employee representation
committee, group, association, or plan so
engaged in which employees participate and
which exits for the purpose, in whole or in part, or
dealing with employers concerning grievances,

(b) Every person who pursuant to any agreement
or arrangement with an employer undertakes
activities where an object thereof is, directly or
indirectly(1) to persuade employees to exercise or not
to exercise, or persuade employees as to
the manner of exercising, the right to

5

organize and bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing; or

If You Need Assistance
The Office of Labor-Management Standards has
field offices located in the following cities to assist
you if you have any questions concerning the
LMRDA reporting requirements.

(2) to supply an employer with
information concerning the
activities of employees or a labor
organization in connection with a
labor dispute involving such
employer, except information for
use solely in conjunction with an
administrative or arbitral
proceeding or a criminal or civil
judicial proceeding;

Atlanta-Nashville
Boston-Buffalo
Chicago
Cincinnati-Cleveland
Dallas-New Orleans
Denver-St. Louis
Detroit-Milwaukee
Los Angeles
Philadelphia-Pittsburgh
New York
San Francisco-Seattle
Washington

shall file within thirty days after entering into such
agreement or arrangement a report with the
Secretary, signed by its president and treasurer or
corresponding principal officers, containing the
name under which such person is engaged in
doing business and the address of its principal
office, and a detailed statement of the terms and
conditions of such agreement or arrangement.

Copies of labor organization annual financial
reports, employer reports, and labor relations
consultant reports filed for the year 2000 and
after can be viewed and printed at
www.unionreports.gov.

Every such person shall file annually, with respect
to each fiscal year during which payments were
made as a result of such an agreement or
arrangement, a report with the Secretary, signed
by its president and treasurer or corresponding
principal officers, containing a statement (A) of its
receipts of any kind from employers on account of
labor relations advice or services, designating the
sources thereof, and (B) of its disbursements of
any kind, in connection with such services and the
purposes thereof. In each such case such
information shall be set forth in such categories as
the Secretary may prescribe.

Information about OLMS, including key personnel
and telephone numbers, compliance assistance
materials, the text of the LMRDA, and related
Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) documents, is also available on the Internet
at www.olms.dol.gov
Additionally, you can contact the OLMS national
office via email at [email protected] or via
phone at (202) 693-0123.

Section 204.
Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed
to require an attorney who is a member in good
standing of the bar of any State, to include In any
report required to be filed pursuant to the
provisions of this Act any information which was
lawfully communicated to such attorney by any of
his clients in the course of a legitimate attorneyclient relationship.

Revised 01/2022
(Technical Revisions 02/2022)

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT
Section 8(c).
The expressing of any views, argument, or
opinion, or the discussion thereof, whether in
written, printed, graphic, or visual form, shall not
constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor
practice under any of the provisions of this Act, if
such expression contains no threat of reprisal or
force or promise of benefit.

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