Exclusions From the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program

This executive order exempts seven Department of Justice subdivisions—including U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the Criminal Division, and intelligence-related offices—from federal labor union protections, citing national security concerns. It amends a 1979 Carter-era order to add these units to an existing exclusion list.

Federal Register Open PDF 67 FR 1601

Key directives

Determine that seven DOJ subdivisions have primary intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security functions
Determine that chapter 71 of title 5, U.S. Code cannot be applied to these subdivisions consistent with national security requirements
Amend Executive Order 12171 section 1-209 to add seven new excluded subdivisions

Timeline

Immediate

Exemptions take effect upon signing
Listed DOJ subdivisions removed from Federal Labor-Management Relations Program coverage

Near term (90d)

DOJ and OPM may need to adjust labor agreements and bargaining unit certifications for affected offices

Long term

Precedent for expanding national security exemptions to other agencies or subdivisions
Potential cumulative erosion of federal employee collective bargaining rights in law enforcement/intelligence components

Risks & tensions

Post-9/11 context: signed less than four months after September 11, 2001, suggesting security-driven expansion of executive labor exemptions
No explicit criteria for 'national security' threshold—creates discretionary precedent for future exclusions
Removes collective bargaining rights from career prosecutors and support staff, not just intelligence operatives
Vague: no procedural requirements for affected employees to challenge exclusion or for notice to unions