Executive Order 13202: Preservation of Open Competition and Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors’ Labor Relations on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects
President: George W. Bush
Barred federal agencies and recipients of covered federal construction assistance from requiring or prohibiting project labor agreements, while leaving contractors free to enter them voluntarily.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 13202 still in effect? No. Revoked February 6, 2009; implementing restrictions withdrawn.
What does Executive Order 13202 do?
The order assigned these duties: Federal awarding agencies — Keep covered bid and assistance documents neutral about project labor agreements; FAR Council — Amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
Before and after
Before the order
Earlier presidential actions permitted or encouraged consideration of project labor agreements on federal construction.
After the order
The FAR Council implemented the order. A district court injunction was vacated when the D.C. Circuit upheld the order in 2002. EO 13502 revoked it in 2009, and agencies removed the implementing restrictions.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Federal awarding agencies | Keep covered bid and assistance documents neutral about project labor agreements | For post-order awards |
| FAR Council | Amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation | Within 60 days |
| Agency heads | Consider narrow public-safety or national-security exemptions | Project-specific |
What happened next
EO 13202 signed.
EO 13208 added an exemption for certain projects with pre-existing bid or project documents.
The FAR Council issued an interim implementing rule.
A district court permanently enjoined the order.
The D.C. Circuit reversed, upheld the order and vacated the injunction in Building and Construction Trades Department v. Allbaugh.
The FAR Council ended its stay and adopted the rule as final.
EO 13502 revoked EO 13202.
Court status
See the court documents in Sources by type.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The appellate court held that the President could direct executive-branch administration of federal contracts and assistance and treated the policy as proprietary rather than NLRA-pre-empted regulation. It left open challenges to a particular agency action that exceeded the relevant funding statute. Revocation ended the order’s government-wide restriction.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- EO 13208 — amendment (opens in a new tab) Order text
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →