Federal appeals court upholds president’s order limiting collective bargaining for federal employees News
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Federal appeals court upholds president’s order limiting collective bargaining for federal employees

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday reversed a district court decision that had declared certain aspects of three of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on federal employees unlawful.

The executive orders at issue regarded “relations between the federal government and its employees.” The first executive order is referred to as the “Collective Bargaining Order.” It “provides agencies with certain procedures that they should seek to institute during negotiations with unions.” The second executive order is referred to as the “Official Time Order” and seeks to limit the amount of time used during business hours on collective bargaining agreements. Finally, the third executive order at issue is referred to as the “Removal Procedures Order.” It “tells agencies to seek to exclude from grievance proceedings any dispute over a decision to remove an employee ‘for misconduct or unacceptable performance.'”

The district court held that certain aspects of the executive orders were unlawful, but the court of appeals ruled that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction. Ultimately, the court of appeals found that “[t]he unions must pursue their claims through the scheme established by” the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.