WASHINGTON (PAI) - By a 3-0 vote, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia backed GOP Labor Secretary Elaine Chao in the AFL-CIO's lawsuit against new Labor Department union financial reporting rules.

The rules, which the AFL-CIOcalculates will cost unions, federations and central labor councils from $700 million to $1.1 billion, require any union with at least $200,000 in receipts to itemize all spending over $5,000, employee work time, and other details covering everything from payroll to paper clips.

The AFL-CIO said Chao interpreted the GOP-passed Landrum-Griffin Act's reporting requirements too tightly and that union reports should be like those of corporations and non-profits.

The judges disagreed in their May 31 ruling.