Executive Order 12899: Establishing an Emergency Board to Investigate a Dispute Between the Long Island Rail Road and Certain of Its Employees Represented by the United Transportation Union
President: Bill Clinton
Created a second three-member emergency board to choose the more reasonable final offer in a Long Island Rail Road labor dispute; the board ended on reporting.
Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 12899 still in effect? No. Executive Order 12899 is completed or expired. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 12899 do?
EO 12899 invoked the special commuter-rail procedures in section 9A of the Railway Labor Act after the parties did not accept the recommendations of the first board created by EO 12874. Presidential Emergency Board 224 received final settlement offers from the Long Island Rail Road and the United Transportation Union, then had 30 days to select the more reasonable offer. The order maintained the status quo during the statutory cooling-off period and terminated the board when it reported.
Before and after
Before the order
The first board’s recommendations had not been accepted, leaving the dispute unresolved.
After the order
A second board reviewed final offers under section 9A and the statutory status-quo period applied.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| President | Appoint three disinterested board members | For PEB 224 |
| Parties | Submit final settlement offers | Within 30 days after creation |
| Emergency board | Select and report the most reasonable offer | Within 30 days after submissions |
What happened next
EO 12874 created the first emergency board.
EO 12899 created the second board.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Section 9A, 45 U.S.C. § 159a, supplied the commuter-rail procedure and temporary status quo. The board selected an offer and reported; it was not a permanent agency or a general grant of labor-regulatory power.
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.
- U.S. Code — Railway Labor Act § 9A (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 14, 2026. How we research →