National Treasury Employees Union v. Donald J. Trump, Civil Action No. 2025-0935

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) challenged Section 2 of Executive Order 14251, which excluded numerous federal agencies from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS).
On April 25, 2025, the district court granted a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the order.
The government appealed and sought a stay of the injunction; the district court denied the stay, but the D.C. Circuit granted it pending appeal.
The D.C. Circuit concluded NTEU failed to establish irreparable harm, citing agency guidance directing agencies not to cancel collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) or file for decertification until litigation concludes.
The D.C. Circuit allowed for individual injunctive relief if a specific agency deviates from the stated government policy to temporarily preserve existing CBAs.
NTEU submitted evidence that, despite lack of formal CBA cancellations, some agencies engaged in conduct undermining or ignoring existing CBAs and union rights.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether irreparable harm exists justifying a preliminary injunction	NTEU: Loss of bargaining power, reputational & financial harm	Trump: Alleged harms are speculative under current agency policy	Court: NTEU did not show irreparable harm under current facts
Effect of agency actions pending litigation	NTEU: Agencies already disregarding CBA provisions	Trump: Agencies following guidance not to cancel CBAs	Court: Most harms speculative unless agency deviates from policy
Suitability of broader injunctive relief	NTEU: Broad injunction needed due to pervasive conduct	Trump: Tailored relief only if actual deviations occur	Court: Individual relief possible for specific deviations
Status of the preliminary injunction during appeal	NTEU: Injunction should remain in place	Trump: Stay warranted due to lack of irreparable harm	Court: Stay of injunction granted pending appeal