ExecutiveOrdersEO
Memo 13836MemorandumTrump 45 · R Quiet signal

Presidential Memorandum 13836

Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839

This memorandum clarifies how federal agencies should handle collective bargaining agreements that were negotiated while court injunctions blocked enforcement of three 2018 executive orders (EOs 13836, 13837, 13839) aimed at reducing union bargaining power and streamlining federal employee removals. Now that an appeals court has vacated the injunction, the memorandum requires agencies to honor agreements signed during the injunction period but allows them to reject specific prohibited terms if those terms were only agreed to—not yet executed—before the court mandate took effect.

Federal Register Open PDF 84 FR 56095

Impact dates

  1. OPM publication in Federal Register

Key directives

  • Agencies shall adhere to terms of collective bargaining agreements executed while injunction was in effect
  • Agencies in ongoing negotiations shall comply with EO terms to extent consistent with law
  • Agencies may execute new agreements containing prohibited terms and ancillary terms if parties had executed agreement to incorporate such terms between EO date and court mandate date
  • OPM Director shall publish memorandum in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Agencies must adhere to terms of collective bargaining agreements executed during injunction period
  • Agencies in ongoing negotiations must comply with EO terms
  • OPM must publish memorandum in Federal Register

Near term (90d)

  • Agencies must assess which negotiated-but-not-executed agreements contain prohibited terms
  • Potential disputes over interpretation of 'executed' vs. 'agreed to' terms

Long term

  • Shift in federal labor-management relations toward management-favorable EOs
  • Potential future litigation over scope of permissible bargaining

Risks & tensions

  • Ambiguity around 'executed' vs. 'agreed to' creates enforcement uncertainty
  • Unions may challenge agency determinations of which agreements qualify for grandfathering
  • Tension between honoring labor agreements and advancing anti-union policy goals
  • Potential conflict with Merit System Principles if removals streamlined too aggressively
Presidential Memorandum 13836: Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839 · Executive Orders