A powerful coalition of construction unions is taking legal action against the federal government, accusing two major agencies of sidestepping a still-active executive order that mandates the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on large federal construction jobs.

North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, targeting both the Department of Defense (DOD) and the General Services Administration (GSA), along with their respective leaders, DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting GSA Administrator Stephen Ehikian.

The complaint centers on Executive Order 14063, issued by former President Joe Biden in 2022, which requires PLAs for federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more. Despite the policy remaining officially intact, NABTU alleges that the agencies have opted to bypass its enforcement under the current Trump administration.

“ABC supports the Trump administration’s exemption of projects critical to America’s national security from these rules,” said Kristen Swearingen, vice president of government affairs for the Associated Builders and Contractors. “We urge the administration to take a step further and fully rescind former President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14063 implementing PLA mandates.”

NABTU is seeking an injunction to halt what it calls unlawful exemptions, arguing that no formal repeal of the Biden-era order has occurred—even as the Trump administration works to curb its influence. The union contends that bypassing PLAs undermines labor protections and worker wages, particularly for its members.

“Such exemptions cannot exist while the executive order remains in effect,” NABTU argues in the filing, claiming that recent federal agency decisions violate the letter and intent of the law.

Regulatory Chaos and Legal Backdrop

The controversy stems from a Feb. 7 directive from the DOD, instructing contracting officers to stop applying PLAs on large-scale construction projects. Days later, on Feb. 12, the GSA issued an internal memo claiming a “class exemption” from Biden’s PLA requirement.

Neither the DOD nor the GSA has commented on the lawsuit. Both agencies told Construction Dive they do not comment on ongoing litigation.

Despite numerous executive actions taken by President Donald Trump to dismantle Biden’s labor policies, Executive Order 14063 has not been officially rescinded. In fact, a Trump executive order issued March 14 takes aim at PLAs in new federal rulemaking but does not revoke the existing order outright—an omission central to NABTU’s case.

The current legal clash follows a broader trend of challenges to the Biden-era PLA mandate. In January 2025, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled against the federal government in a lawsuit involving seven PLA-covered projects from 2024. The judge found the PLA requirement “arbitrary and capricious,” noting that it ignored federal research suggesting PLAs could be anti-competitive.

However, that ruling applied only to the specific contracts in the complaint and did not invalidate Executive Order 14063 as a whole—leaving room for enforcement in other projects.

A Deeper Divide Over Federal Construction Policy

The Biden administration’s 2023 decision to mandate PLAs was touted as a win for organized labor and skilled tradespeople. It aligned with Biden’s pledge to be “the most pro-labor president in history,” a stance that sparked backlash from business groups like ABC, which claim the policy creates unnecessary cost burdens and discourages open competition.

“We urge the administration to eliminate the executive order altogether,” Swearingen added. “Doing so would eliminate the legal basis for NABTU’s lawsuit and restore neutrality in federal contracting.”

But NABTU argues that these exemptions are unlawful and harmful, especially to union workers who rely on PLAs to secure fair wages, benefits, and working conditions. The outcome of this case could determine whether agencies must reinstate PLA use—or whether Trump's indirect undermining of the order will prevail without a formal repeal.

With the executive order technically still active, the lawsuit raises a key legal question: Can federal agencies independently circumvent presidential orders without repealing them outright?

The court’s decision could set a precedent not just for PLAs, but for how future administrations handle lingering policies from their predecessors.

Originally reported by Zachary Phillips inn Construction Dive.