Executive Order 14343: Further Exclusions From the Federal Labor- Management Relations Program

What does Executive Order 14343 do?

The text directs Agencies to apply exclusions to named subdivisions, and OPM to issue implementation guidance.

Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14343

EO 14343 excludes additional agency subdivisions from federal labor-management relations coverage under the national-security provision in 5 U.S.C. § 7103(b)(1). It identifies covered components and directs agencies to apply the statutory exclusion. The Federal Register text of EO 14343 is the controlling list; the order does not remove every federal employee from collective bargaining.

The statute permits an exclusion when an agency head determines that the subdivision’s primary function is intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national-security work that directly affects national security. The legal question is about the designated subdivision and its function, not simply whether an individual employee handles sensitive information. Agencies must identify the unit and explain how the statutory criteria apply.

An exclusion can affect union recognition, bargaining obligations and grievance rights for employees in a covered unit. Employees outside the listed subdivisions remain governed by the ordinary federal labor-relations framework unless another valid exclusion applies. The order should be read with the statute and any later court decision or agency implementation notice. A broad label such as “national security” does not itself establish the status of every job in an agency.