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Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-102

§7102 Employees’ Rights

Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart F — Labor-Management and Employee Relations › CHAPTER 71 — LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS › SUBCHAPTER I — GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 7102

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Employees may join, start, or help a labor union—or choose not to—without fear of punishment, and they are protected when they do. They can serve as union representatives and speak for the union to agency leaders, other government officials, or Congress. They can also bargain about work conditions through representatives chosen by the employees under these rules.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §7102

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Each employee shall have the right to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from any such activity, freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal, and each employee shall be protected in the exercise of such right. Except as otherwise provided under this chapter, such right includes the right—
(1)to act for a labor organization in the capacity of a representative and the right, in that capacity, to present the views of the labor organization to heads of agencies and other officials of the executive branch of the Government, the Congress, or other appropriate authorities, and
(2)to engage in collective bargaining with respect to conditions of employment through representatives chosen by employees under this chapter.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 7102, Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 523, related to right of employees to petition Congress, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 95–454. See section 7211 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1978 Amendment note under section 1101 of this title. Partial Suspension of Federal Service Labor-Management RelationsPar. (2) of this section suspended with respect to any matter proposed for bargaining which would substantially impair the implementation by the United States Forces of any treaty or agreement, including any minutes or understandings thereto, between the United States and the Government of the host nation, see section 1(b) of Ex. Ord. No. 12391, Nov. 4, 1982, 47 F.R. 50457, set out as a note under section 7103 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 7102

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102