Parts of Executive Orders Struck Down in Court
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- Published: August 27, 2018
In a victory for federal employees and their unions, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down a decision late Friday night striking down many of the provisions contained in the three anti-federal employee executive orders (EOs) issued in May.
In her 122-page ruling, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sided with the unions by enjoining some of the most egregious of the sections of the EOs, including setting timelines to complete bargaining, establishing strict limitations on official time, forcing unions to pay for union space and severely restricting the grievance process.
PASS has consistently maintained that the vast majority of the topics covered by the EOs are covered by our collective bargaining agreements and cannot be unilaterally altered. Regardless, the EOs are troubling and harmful to federal sector unions.
“This decision is a win for all federal workers,” said National President Mike Perrone. “While many of the topics targeted in the executive orders are protected by our contracts, it is clear that this was an attempt to restrict the rights of all federal employees.”
More than a dozen federal employee unions sued to block implementation of the executive orders, challenging their legality on a number of fronts. They were led by the Federal Workers Alliance, of which PASS is a member. The court combined the lawsuits and issued an order for expedited briefing and held a hearing on July 25, attended by the PASS legal team.
As of today, it is unclear what the administration’s next step might be, but it could include appealing the decision.
PASS will remain vigilant to ensure that the employees it represents continue to remain protected in the workplace so that they can do their work on behalf of the American public.