§ 723 — Specific prohibited financial interests and transactions

§ 723. Specific prohibited financial interests and transactions. 1.\nWithout limiting his fiduciary obligation provided in section seven\nhundred twenty-two, it shall constitute a violation of his fiduciary\nobligation for an officer or agent of a labor organization:\n (a) To have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in any\nbusiness or transaction of either an employer whose employees his labor\norganization represents or seeks to represent for purposes of collective\nbargaining, or an employer who is in the same industry as such an\nemployer;\n (b) To have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in the\nbusiness or transaction of any person who sells to, buys from, or\notherwise deals with (i) an employer whose employees his labor\norganization represents or seeks to represent for purposes of collective\nbargaining, or (ii) an employer organization which represents such\nemployer, or (iii) an employer who is in the same industry as such an\nemployer;\n (c) To have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in the\nbusiness of any person who sells to, buys from, or otherwise deals with\nhis labor organization;\n (d) To have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in any\ntransaction with his labor organization for the purchase or sale of\nproperty or services, except reasonable compensation for services\nrendered by him to such organization as officer or agent;\n (e) To receive, directly or indirectly, any payments, loans, or gifts\nfrom (i) an employer whose employees his labor organization represents\nor seeks to represent for purposes of collective bargaining, or (ii) an\nemployer organization which represents such employer, or (iii) an\nemployer who is in the same industry as such an employer; provided,\nhowever, that such an officer or agent may receive reasonable\ncompensation for services rendered by him as an employee of such\nemployer, or payments required by collective agreement to be made in\nlieu of wages for time lost from work while engaged in collective\nbargaining, handling of grievances, or otherwise in the administration\nof a collective agreement;\n (f) To lend any funds of the labor organization, directly or\nindirectly, to either any officer, agent, or employee of such\norganization, or any business in which an officer, agent, or employee of\nsuch organization has, directly or indirectly, a financial interest;\nprovided, however, that loans may be made from a loan fund which has\nbeen set aside in accordance with a written resolution of the governing\nboard of the labor organization for the specific purpose of making\npersonal loans to its officers, agents, and employees generally, in\ncompliance with established, written rules; or\n (g) To lend or invest any funds of the labor organization, directly or\nindirectly, in any business of an employer whose employees his labor\norganization represents or seeks to represent for purposes of collective\nbargaining, except where the governing board of the labor organization\nhas adopted a written resolution finding and determining that such loan\nor investment will promote the best interests of the employees and will\nnot adversely affect collective bargaining.\n 2. The fact that conduct or acts of an officer or agent of a labor\norganization have not caused damage to such organization or any of its\nmembers, or have been ratified or acquiesced in by such organization or\nits members, shall not be relevant in determining whether such conduct\nor acts constitute a violation by such officer or agent of any of the\nobligations provided in section seven hundred twenty-two and in this\nsection.\n 3. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit an officer or\nagent of a labor organization from:\n (a) holding a financial interest acquired as an employee through a\nregularly established employee benefit plan, including a stock purchase,\nprofit sharing, pension or retirement plan;\n (b) holding securities traded on a securities exchange registered as a\nnational exchange under the securities exchange act of nineteen hundred\nthirty-four, or securities traded on over-the-counter markets within the\nmeaning of such act, or shares in an investment company registered under\nthe investment company act of nineteen hundred forty, or securities of a\npublic utility holding company registered under the public utility\nholding company act of nineteen hundred thirty-five, and all federal\nlaws amendatory and supplemental to such acts; provided, however, that\nany investment in such securities or shares shall not constitute more\nthan one per cent of the outstanding securities or shares of the\nrespective class or classes of securities or shares which he holds;\n (c) lending to, or investing in, any business owned predominantly by a\nlabor organization or labor organizations; or\n (d) receiving gifts, otherwise lawful, from employers whose employees\nhis labor organization represents and from employer organizations which\nrepresent such employers, provided the cumulative retail value of such\ngifts from all such employers and employer organizations does not exceed\none hundred dollars in any calendar year.\n 4. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit any labor\norganization from:\n (a) Acquiring a nominal number of shares in any corporation for the\npurpose of qualifying as stockholder in order to obtain financial\nstatements of the corporation; or\n (b) Lending to, or investing in, any business owned predominately by a\nlabor organization or labor organizations.\n