Case: American Federation of Labor v. Sonderling

1:26-cv-02061 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: June 10, 2026

Clearinghouse coding in progress

Case Summary

[This summary is temporary while we research the case]. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) filed this suit on June 10, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the Acting Secretary of Labor and the Director of the Office of Labor-Management Standards. The complaint challenged a final rule titled "Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports," 91 Fed. Reg. 32556, promulgated on June 1, 2026, and set to take eff…

[This summary is temporary while we research the case]. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) filed this suit on June 10, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the Acting Secretary of Labor and the Director of the Office of Labor-Management Standards. The complaint challenged a final rule titled "Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports," 91 Fed. Reg. 32556, promulgated on June 1, 2026, and set to take effect July 1, 2026. The Rule expanded annual financial reporting requirements for labor organizations under Title II of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), implementing sweeping changes that had originally been proposed in an October 2020 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) but were expressly withdrawn in March 2021 as "no longer necessary." A subsequent July 2025 NPRM addressed only filing thresholds and made no mention of the withdrawn 2020 rulemaking or broader changes, yet the Final Rule adopted many of those earlier proposals. The AFL-CIO asserted several causes of action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The AFL-CIO sought a preliminary injunction postponing the Rule's effective date, a declaratory judgment that the challenged provisions are unlawful and void, vacatur of those provisions, and attorneys' fees and costs.

Summary Authors

(6/14/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73465163/parties/american-federation-of-labor-and-congress-of-industrial-organizations-v/


Judge(s)

Boasberg, James Emanuel (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Bellotti, Adam (District of Columbia)

Dayan, Leon (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

BAKER, SAMANTHA-JOSEPHINE (District of Columbia)

Georgiev-Remmel, Dimitar (District of Columbia)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document
1

1:26-cv-02061

Complaint

June 10, 2026

June 10, 2026

7-1

1:26-cv-02061

Memorandum in Support

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73465163/american-federation-of-labor-and-congress-of-industrial-organizations-v/

Last updated June 15, 2026, 3:43 p.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
1

COMPLAINT against ELISABETH MESSENGER, KEITH E. SONDERLING ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-12479273) filed by AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons to Keith E. Sonderling, # 3 Summons to Elisabeth Messenger, # 4 Summons to U.S. Attorney General, # 5 Summons to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia)(Dayan, Leon) (Entered: 06/10/2026)

1 Civil Cover Sheet

View on PACER

2 Summons to Keith E. Sonderling

View on PACER

3 Summons to Elisabeth Messenger

View on PACER

4 Summons to U.S. Attorney General

View on PACER

5 Summons to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia

View on PACER

June 10, 2026

June 10, 2026

Clearinghouse
2

ERRATA Exhibit A to Complaint by AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS re 1 Complaint,. (Dayan, Leon) (Entered: 06/10/2026)

June 10, 2026

June 10, 2026

3

NOTICE of Appearance by Jacob R. Karabell on behalf of AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Karabell, Jacob) (Entered: 06/10/2026)

June 10, 2026

June 10, 2026

4

NOTICE of Appearance by Adam Bellotti on behalf of AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Bellotti, Adam) (Entered: 06/10/2026)

June 10, 2026

June 10, 2026

5

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice :Attorney Name- Fred Z. Wang, Filing fee $ 100, receipt number ADCDC-12480188. Fee Status: Fee Paid. by AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of Fred Z. Wang, # 2 Certificate of Good Standing, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Dayan, Leon) (Entered: 06/10/2026)

June 10, 2026

June 10, 2026

6

SUMMONS (4) Issued Electronically as to ELISABETH MESSENGER, KEITH E. SONDERLING, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmtm) (Entered: 06/11/2026)

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

7

MOTION for Preliminary Injunction to Postpone Effective Date of Agency Action by AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Declaration of Mary Margaret Prange, # 3 Declaration of Ryan Taylor, # 4 Text of Proposed Order)(Dayan, Leon) (Entered: 06/11/2026)

1 Memorandum in Support

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2 Declaration of Mary Margaret Prange

View on PACER

3 Declaration of Ryan Taylor

View on PACER

4 Text of Proposed Order

View on PACER

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

Order on Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

Scheduling Order

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

Case Assigned to Chief Judge James E. Boasberg. (zmtm)

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

MINUTE ORDER: The Court ORDERS that the 5 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice of Fred Z. Wang is GRANTED. Counsel should register for e-filing via PACER and file a notice of appearance pursuant to LCvR 83.6(a) Click for instructions. So ORDERED by Chief Judge James E. Boasberg on June 11, 2026. (lcjeb3)

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

MINUTE ORDER: The Court ORDERS that: 1) Defendants shall file their opposition to Plaintiff's 7 Motion for Preliminary Injunction by June 18, 2026; 2) Plaintiff shall file its reply by June 22, 2026; and 3) Oral argument on the Motion shall take place on June 29, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. So ORDERED by Chief Judge James E. Boasberg on June 11, 2026. (lcjeb3)

June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026

8

NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Ginsburg on behalf of AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Ginsburg, Matthew) (Entered: 06/12/2026)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

9

ENTERED IN ERROR.....NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Ginsburg on behalf of AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Ginsburg, Matthew) Modified on 6/12/2026, Counsel will refile. (mg). (Entered: 06/12/2026)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

10

ENTERED IN ERROR.....NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Ginsburg on behalf of AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Ginsburg, Matthew) Modified on 6/12/2026, Counsel will refile (zhcn). (Entered: 06/12/2026)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

11

NOTICE of Appearance by Maneesh Sharma on behalf of AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Sharma, Maneesh) (Entered: 06/12/2026)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

12

NOTICE of Appearance by Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel on behalf of All Defendants (Georgiev-Remmel, Dimitar) (Entered: 06/12/2026)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

13

NOTICE of Appearance by Samantha-Josephine Baker on behalf of ELISABETH MESSENGER, KEITH E. SONDERLING (Baker, Samantha-Josephine) (Entered: 06/12/2026)

June 12, 2026

June 12, 2026

Case Details

State / Territory:

District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Labor Rights

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

Key Dates

Filing Date: June 10, 2026

Case Details

Other Dockets:

District of District of Columbia 1:26-cv-02061

Recommended Citation