Reading Room Document

Department of Labor Jurisdiction to Investigate Certain Criminal Matters

The Attorney General may not delegate his authority to investigate labor crimes to the Secretary of Labor unless the Department of Labor has specific overlapping statutory authority to investigate those same offenses. Section 601(a) of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. § 521(a), precludes the investigation of violations of § 302 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 186, by the Department of Labor. Section 805(b) of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, 29 U.S.C. § 1136, did not alter the limitations on Department of Labor investigatory authority set forth in § 601(a) of the LMRDA. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23871/download.

October 28, 1986