Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—OPM issues guidance on revocation of Executive Order 14119, (Mar 28, 2025)
By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.
OPM also rescinded the Labor-Management Forum Guidance and Guidance on LMR Relations, issued on March 13, 2024, effective immediately.
Yesterday, OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell issued guidance regarding the March 14, 2025, executive order issued by President Trump, referred to as the “Additional Recissions” order, which revoked Executive Order 14119 of March 6, 2024, a Biden-administration EO that had created an interagency working group that focused on expansion of registered apprenticeships within the federal government and federally funded projects. The 2024 order had reestablished labor-management forums, revoking a prior Trump-era order, Executive Order 13812 of September 29, 2017, which had done away with the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.
“With the signing of Additional Recissions,” Ezell writes, “President Trump is returning the Executive Branch to the policies of his first Administration on ending the use of labor-management committees or councils and eliminating wasteful spending on pre-decisional involvement.”
Agencies are required to “take steps to abolish existing forums, committees, and councils, whether established agency-wide or at a subordinate organizational level. This includes rescinding any regulations, rules, policies, or guidelines establishing, promoting, or requiring the utilization of forums, committees, and councils.”
Pre-decisional involvement. It also states that “agencies should also cease the use of pre-decisional involvement of labor unions and employees in agency matters. Where the establishment or use of labor-management forums, committees, and councils, or use of pre-decisional involvement are incorporated into the terms of any collective bargaining agreement (CBA), agencies should seek to renegotiate those terms at the earliest practicable juncture consistent with the policies of this Administration.”
Prior guidance rescinded. OPM also rescinded the Labor-Management Forum Guidance and Guidance on LMR Relations effective immediately. Among other things, that guidance, issued on March 13, 2024, stated: “Pre-decisional involvement, or PDI, is a key component of the EO. The EO envisions employees and their union representatives as stakeholders whose viewpoints and input should be obtained in a collaborative labor-management engagement process before agency leaders make decisions which impact conditions of employment and which would normally be subject to collective bargaining. PDI topics may include the full range of management initiatives which impact employees in the workplace. While PDI should not be limited to the LMF, the forums may be a way for parties to engage and discuss those topics.”
Reporting deadline. Ezell’s memo states that, by April 30, 2025, agencies are required to report to OPM steps taken to comply with Additional Recissions, including the identification of:
all CBAs and agency policies that establish or require the use of labor-management forums, committees, and councils, or require the use of pre-decisional involvement of labor unions and employees in agency matters;
a projected timeline when it expects to abolish labor-management forums, committees, and councils, and discontinue pre-decisional involvement of labor unions and employees in agency matters; and,
all steps taken to-date to come into compliance with Additional Recissions.
Agencies also were told to “expect to receive requests for updated information.”
News: AgencyNews WhiteHouseNews LaborNews Labor FedTracker LaborEmployment