29 U.S.C. § 482 — Enforcement

(a) Filing of complaint; presumption of validity. A union member can file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor claiming a violation of section 481 of this title (including a violation of the union's own constitution and bylaws about electing or removing officers). To file, the member must either (1) have used up all the remedies available under the union's and any parent body's constitution and bylaws, or (2) have used those remedies without getting a final decision within three calendar months, and then file within one calendar month after that. Until there's a final decision, the challenged election is presumed valid, and in the meantime the union's affairs are run by the elected officers or however its constitution and bylaws provide.

(b) Investigation of complaint; civil action by Secretary. The Secretary must investigate the complaint. If the Secretary finds probable cause that a violation of this subchapter happened and hasn't been fixed, the Secretary must, within 60 days after the complaint is filed, sue the union as an entity in the federal district court where the union has its main office. The suit asks the court to set aside any invalid election and to order a new election, or a hearing and vote on removing officers, run under the Secretary's supervision and following this subchapter and the Secretary's rules and regulations. The court can act as it sees fit to protect the union's assets during the case.

(c) Court's findings and remedies. If, after a trial on the merits, the court decides — based on the weight of the evidence — either (1) that an election didn't happen within the time section 481 of this title requires, or (2) that a violation of section 481 of this title may have affected the election's outcome, the court must declare the election void and order a new one, conducted under the Secretary's supervision and, as far as lawful and practical, following the union's constitution and bylaws. The Secretary must then promptly certify to the court who was elected, and the court enters a decree declaring them the union's officers. If the case instead concerns removing officers under section 481(h) of this title, the Secretary certifies the vote results, and the court enters a decree declaring whether those officers were removed.

(d) Review of orders. An order that directs an election, dismisses a complaint, or names a union's elected officers can be appealed the same way as a final judgment in a civil action. But an order directing an election cannot be put on hold while the appeal is pending.