Further Exclusions From the Federal Labor- Management Relations Program
Signed: August 28, 2025
Published: September 3, 2025
Document Number: 2025-16924
📋Summary
This executive order expands the list of federal agencies and units that are excluded from the federal labor-management relations program (the rules that govern collective bargaining for many federal employees), citing national security concerns. It affects employees in specific parts of the Bureau of Reclamation (hydropower operations), the Department of Commerce (including the International Trade Administration, the Patent and Trademark Office’s patent side, and parts of NOAA such as the National Weather Service and satellite/data services), as well as NASA and the U.S. Agency for Global Media. The order updates an earlier executive order to formally designate these organizations as primarily involved in intelligence, investigative, or national security-related work, and says the usual labor-relations framework cannot be applied to them in a way that meets national security needs. It also gives the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs an extra 15 days from the date of this order for certain related exclusion orders to still take effect. If any part of the order is struck down, the rest remains in effect, and it does not create new enforceable legal rights.
💼Business Impact
This order expands “national security” exclusions from the federal labor‑management relations framework (5 U.S.C. Ch. 71) for specific federal units—most notably Bureau of Reclamation hydropower operations, Commerce’s International Trade Administration and parts of NOAA (NESDIS and National Weather Service), plus NASA and the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Businesses most affected are federal contractors and vendors supporting these organizations (engineering/O&M for hydropower, aerospace and R&D, weather/satellite data services, trade compliance/IT support, media/broadcast tech), because workforce rules, bargaining dynamics, and access/operational protocols at customer sites may change quickly. Compliance/opportunity impacts: expect faster management-driven staffing and work-rule changes at these agencies, which can alter contract performance assumptions (site access, shift schedules, security clearances, deliverable timelines) and may increase demand for cleared personnel, continuity-of-operations support, and outsourced services as agencies restructure. The 15‑day deadline extension for DoD/VA-related exclusion orders signals near-term additional changes; firms with DoD/VA work should anticipate more units being carved out and adjust labor relations and staffing plans accordingly. Immediate actions: (1) identify contracts/sub
Full Text
Executive Order 14343 of August 28, 2025
Further Exclusions From the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7103(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, to enhance the national security of the United States, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1 . Determinations. The agencies and agency subdivisions set forth in section 2 of this order are hereby determined to have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work. It is also hereby determined that Chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, cannot be applied to these agencies and agency subdivisions in a manner consistent with national security requirements and considerations.
Sec. 2 . National Security Exclusions.Executive Order 12171 of November 19, 1979, as amended, is further amended by:
(a) In section 1-408, adding at the end:
“(e) Units in the Bureau of Reclamation with primary responsibility for operating, managing, or maintaining hydropower facilities.”;
(b) Revising section 1-411 to read:
“1-411. Agencies or subdivisions of the Department of Commerce:
(a) The International Trade Administration.
(b) Office of the Commissioner for Patents and subordinate units, Patent and Trademark Office.
(c) The following subdivisions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
(1) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
(2) National Weather Service.”; and
(c) Adding the following after section 1-419:
“1-420. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
1-421. The United States Agency for Global Media.”.
Sec. 3 . Extension of Deadline. Any order published by the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 4 of Executive Order 14251 of March 27, 2025 (Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs), shall have full force and effect if it is issued prior to the date that is 15 days from the date of this order, notwithstanding section 4(b)(ii) of Executive Order 14251.
Sec. 4 . Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 5 . General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. ( printed page 42684)
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
August 28, 2025.