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DOJ Appeals D.C. Circuit's Union E.O. Ruling

By George Khoury, Esq. on September 27, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Last month, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia struck down several provisions of President Trump's Executive Orders issued in May of this year. The trio of EOs limited the power of federal employee unions, and as commentators explained, would make it easier to fire union employees.

However, not pleased with the federal court ruling that several provisions could not be enforced, the Justice Department has filed their notice of appeal to the DC Circuit Court.

Limiting Union Time

One of the bigger issues the case deals with is the EO's limit on the amount of time federal employees can spend on official union matters, not to mention that it also restricts which activities would qualify as such. And while the government claimed there would be a massive $100 million cost saving as a result for tax payers, however those savings seem to come at the expense of a fair labor dispute resolution process.

In addition to limiting union officials' time, one EO removed "adverse personnel actions" from the administrative grievance procedure. Advocates against the EOs claim these limits are akin to "union busting" and are a "direct assault" on the rights of the federal workers.

As the district court explained in its ruling, the president exceeded his authority as the EOs undermined federal employees' rights to bargain collectively.

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