Background
Six labor unions representing approximately eight hundred thousand federal employees sued the President and various agency heads, alleging that Executive Order fourteen thousand two hundred fifty-one violated the First Amendment by retaliating against them for filing lawsuits and criticizing the administration. The district court had preliminarily enjoined the order, finding a serious question regarding retaliation. The order excluded agencies such as the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, and Energy from collective bargaining under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute based on national security.
The court’s reasoning
The panel held that the government demonstrated the President would have taken the same action to exclude the agencies even without any retaliatory intent. The executive order contained no facial evidence of retaliatory animus and explicitly cited interference with national security as the primary concern. Because the unions failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of their retaliation claim, the court did not need to weigh the remaining preliminary injunction factors, though it noted the government would likely prevail on those as well.
What it means going forward
Federal agencies designated in the executive order remain excluded from collective bargaining requirements under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute pending further litigation.