Are service providers to the employer of union members agents of that employer?
A7(B). The definition of “employer” includes “any person acting directly or indirectly as an employer or as an agent of an employer in relation to an employee.” 29 U.S.C. § 402(e); see also 29 U.S.C. § 402(f) (emphasis added). A person or entity who is an “employer” under the LMRDA and makes “any payment or loan, direct or indirect, of money or other thing of value (including reimbursed expenses), or any promise or agreement therefore, to any labor organization or officer, agent, shop steward, or other representative of a labor organization, or employee of any labor organization” must file a report, unless a specific exemption is applicable. 29 U.S.C. § 433. As a result, by its terms, the statute requires a report when an agent of an employer makes a payment to a union or union official. A question, therefore, arises: whether a service provider or vendor to the employer of the union members also constitutes an “agent” of the employer. See FAQs, Question 17. Such a service provider or v
