Summary
This per curiam order from the D.C. Circuit denies the federal government's emergency motion for a stay pending appeal of a district court's preliminary injunction. The injunction temporarily blocks the enforcement of Executive Order 14,251, which sought to exclude approximately two-thirds of the federal workforce, including DoDEA employees, from collective bargaining protections under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. The court held that the government failed to demonstrate the certain, great, and imminent irreparable harm required to justify such extraordinary relief. A concurring opinion further analyzes the merits, suggesting the executive order likely exceeds presidential statutory authority.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the government satisfied the irreparable injury requirement for a stay pending appeal.
- Whether the government is likely to succeed on the merits of its ultra vires challenge to the Executive Order.
- Whether the district court's preliminary injunction should be stayed.
Holdings
- The government failed to demonstrate certain, great, and imminent irreparable injury; therefore the stay of the preliminary injunction is denied.
Key quotations
“The government, like other litigants, may not simply assume that this court will leap to intervene on its behalf based on generalized assertions of injury.” (at *3)
“Stays pending appeal are a rare form of emergency relief reserved for true emergencies. And it is not enough that the government “stamp[s] the word ‘EMERGENCY’ on the front cover of its stay application.”” (at *5)
Factual background
President Trump issued Executive Order 14,251 excluding numerous federal agencies, including the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), from coverage under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS). The district court entered a preliminary injunction preventing the order's application to DoDEA. The government sought a stay of that injunction.
Procedural history
The district court granted preliminary injunctions enjoining enforcement of the Executive Order against DoDEA. The government moved for a stay of that injunction; the D.C. Circuit denied the stay.