OLMS' history dates back to the September 14, 1959 passage of the Labor-Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA), which was enacted
by Congress to ensure certain basic standards of democracy and fiscal responsibility
in labor organizations representing employees in private industry. The organization's
original name was the Bureau of Labor-Management Reports (BLMR). It was re-named
the Labor-Management Services Administration (LMSA) in 1963.
At one time or another LMSA had responsibilities which included pension and
welfare plans, Federal labor relations, veterans reemployment rights, and an
anti-racketeering/organized crime strike force. Through reorganizations and
the creation of new agencies through legislation, these functions were subsequently
transferred to other Federal agencies.
With the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) in 1978, the federal
labor relations program was transferred to the newly created Federal Labor Relations
Authority. However, the Standard of Conduct provisions of the CSRA which regulate
internal affairs of federal-sector unions remained in LMSA. In 1980, the Foreign
Service Act (FSA) was passed and unions representing employees of the Department
of State and U.S. Information Agency (USIA) became subject to Standards of Conduct
requirements.
The agency became known as OLMS in 1984. In 1992, OLMS became part of the Employment
Standards Administration (ESA). In 1993, OLMS was transferred to the newly created
Office of the American Workplace (OAW). And in 1996, OAW ceased to exist and
OLMS was transferred back to ESA.
Office of Labor-Management Standards Historical Summary:
1959: The Bureau of Labor-Management Reports (BLMR) was formed after
passage of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended
(LMRDA).
1963: In August of 1963, BLMR was renamed the Labor-Management Services
Administration (LMSA).
1964: LMSA assumed responsibilities under section 13(c) of the Urban
Mass Transportation Act and similar provisions in other Federal statutes to
protect the interests of employees affected by Federal grant programs and other
Federal actions.
1970: Executive Order 11491 created the Office of Federal Labor-Management
Relations (FLMR) within LMSA to implement the responsibilities for labor-management
relations in the federal sector. In addition, the Postal Reorganization Act
of 1970 was enacted and Postal Service employees came within the protections
of the LMRDA.
1978: LMSA assumed employee protection responsibilities under the Airline
Deregulation Act. Also in that year as a result of the passage of the Civil
Service Reform Act (CSRA), the FLMR program was subsequently transferred to
the newly created Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Standards of Conduct
provisions of the CSRA which regulate the internal affairs of federal-sector
labor unions remained with LMSA.
1980: The Foreign Service Act (FSA) was passed and unions representing
employees of the Department of State and U.S. Information Agency (USIA) became
subject to the Standards of Conduct requirements in section 4117 of the FSA.
1984: LMSA became the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) and
was headed by the Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Standards. The employee
protection and labor-management relations and cooperation programs were then
transferred to a separate entity known as the Bureau of Labor-Management Relations
and Cooperative Programs (BLMRCP).
1992: OLMS became part of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA).
1993: OLMS and the programs formerly in BLMRCP were merged into a newly
created agency known as the Office of the American Workplace (OAW), which was
created, in part, to promote high performance workplaces.
1996: OAW ceased to exist and OLMS again became part of ESA. The employee
protection functions were incorporated in OLMS and became the OLMS Division
of Statutory Programs.
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