Economy, finance and labor

Executive Order 13700: Establishing an Emergency Board To Investigate Disputes Between New Jersey Transit Rail and Certain of Its Employees Represented by Certain Labor Organizations

President: Barack Obama

Created a Presidential Emergency Board to investigate unresolved bargaining disputes between NJ Transit Rail and represented employees.

Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 13700 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13700 is completed or expired. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13700 do?

EO 13700 invoked the commuter-rail provisions of the Railway Labor Act after mediation failed between New Jersey Transit Rail Operations and a coalition of unions. A three-member board investigated and recommended settlement terms while strikes and lockouts were delayed. The board reported in 2015 and ceased to exist; a second board followed in 2016 before the parties reached an agreement.

Administration position: The board’s recommendations were temporary and advisory; they did not permanently impose a collective-bargaining agreement.
SignedJuly 15, 2015
CarrierNJ Transit Rail Operations
AuthorityRailway Labor Act section 9A

Before and after

Before the order

Long-running negotiations created a risk of commuter-rail disruption.

After the order

The statutory cooling-off process supplied findings and more time for bargaining.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Emergency boardInvestigate and reportCompleted
Carrier and unionsMaintain status quo during the statutory periodCompleted
National Mediation BoardAdminister the processCompleted

What happened next

EO 13700 created Emergency Board 248.