Economy, finance and labor

Executive Order 14125: Establishing an Emergency Board To Investigate a Dispute Between New Jersey Transit Rail Operations and Its Locomotive Engineers Represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

President: Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Created Presidential Emergency Board 251 to investigate the NJ Transit–locomotive engineers bargaining dispute and imposed the Railway Labor Act status quo.

Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 14125 still in effect? No. Executive Order 14125 is completed or expired. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 14125 do?

The board had to investigate and report on the NJ Transit dispute while the parties observed the Railway Labor Act status quo.

Administration position: The order’s findings and policy rationale were the Biden administration’s positions. This guide distinguishes them from implementation records and judicial rulings.
SignedJuly 24, 2024
Lead officialsPresidential Emergency Board 251 and National Mediation Board
Express timingReport by August 23, 2024; statutory status-quo periods followed

Before and after

Before the order

Mediation had not resolved the contract dispute and the Railway Labor Act authorized a specialized commuter-rail emergency process.

After the order

The board completed its work on August 23, 2024. The parties did not settle, and EO 14128 created a second board in November; the first board then had no continuing function.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Board 251Investigate and report on the disputeAugust 23, 2024
PartiesMaintain status quoFor statutory period

What happened next

EO 14125 signed.

Board 251 created.

Board closed after completing its assigned work.

EO 14128 created Board 252.