No. Federal employees cannot legally strike against the government. The prohibition sits in 5 U.S.C. § 7311, and breaking it carries both a felony criminal charge and near-automatic firing. The ban is absolute, it has been enforced at scale, and it applies to work slowdowns and coordinated sick-outs, not just picket lines.
What the Law Prohibits
Section 7311 of Title 5 disqualifies anyone from federal employment who participates in a strike against the government or even asserts the right to do so. It also disqualifies anyone who knowingly belongs to an organization of government employees that claims such a right. Before starting work, federal employees must affirm they have not struck against the government and will not strike during their employment.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S. Code 7311 – Loyalty and Striking
The ban reaches beyond a classic walkout. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7116, calling, participating in, or condoning a strike, work stoppage, or slowdown is an unfair labor practice for a federal union. Organized sick-outs, deliberate slowdowns, and coordinated refusals to perform duties all fall within the prohibition, even without a picket sign in sight.2U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Statute: 7116 – Unfair Labor Practices
There is one narrow carve-out. Informational picketing that communicates a message to the public does not count as an unfair labor practice, provided it does not interfere with the agency’s operations. The line is drawn at actual disruption of agency work.2U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Statute: 7116 – Unfair Labor Practices
Penalties for Striking
A federal employee who strikes faces immediate termination. That is only the beginning.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1918, violating the strike prohibition in Section 7311 is a criminal offense punishable by a fine and imprisonment for up to one year and a day.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1918 – Disloyalty and Asserting the Right to Strike Against the Government The extra day is not a drafting quirk. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3559, any offense carrying a maximum sentence between one and five years is a Class E felony, the lowest felony tier in the federal system. So a striking federal worker is exposed to a felony conviction, not a misdemeanor.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses
Unions carry their own exposure. A union that calls or supports a strike commits an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116(b)(7), and one that fails to try to stop strike activity by its members faces the same liability as one that organized it. The Federal Labor Relations Authority investigates and enforces these charges.5U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority. Unfair Labor Practice
Has the Ban Actually Been Enforced?
Yes, and dramatically. In August 1981, about 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job over pay and working conditions. President Reagan gave them 48 hours to return. When most refused, he fired 11,345 controllers and barred them from future federal employment. The firings held up.6Miller Center. Reagan vs. Air Traffic Controllers
The rehiring ban was not permanent. President Clinton lifted it by memorandum in August 1993, though by then most former controllers had moved on and few returned. The criminal and employment prohibitions on striking, however, remain in force exactly as they were.
What Federal Workers Can Do Instead
Losing the strike does not mean losing all leverage. The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, enacted as Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, gives most federal employees the right to form and join unions, bargain collectively, and take part in decisions about working conditions.7U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Statute
The scope is narrower than in the private sector. Federal pay is set by Congress through systems like the General Schedule, not at the bargaining table. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7106, management retains sole authority over an agency’s mission, budget, organizational structure, staffing levels, hiring, work assignments, contracting, and emergency actions. Bargaining tends to focus on the procedures management follows when exercising those rights, and on arrangements for affected employees, meaning things like telework, scheduling, office conditions, and grievance handling.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S. Code 7106 – Management Rights
When negotiations deadlock, either side can turn to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a body within the FLRA created specifically to break those stalemates. The Panel can direct mediation or fact-finding, and if voluntary agreement still fails, it can impose contract terms through a binding decision. The substance of that decision cannot be appealed to any court.9U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority. The Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP or the Panel)
Employees and unions can also file unfair labor practice charges with the FLRA when they believe an agency has broken the statute. Collective bargaining agreements must include a grievance procedure, and disputes under those agreements can go to binding arbitration. Together, these mechanisms are the legal replacement for the strike weapon.
2025 Changes to Bargaining Rights
The bargaining rights themselves are under active challenge. In March 2025, the White House issued an executive order excluding a broad list of federal agencies from coverage under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, citing national security. The order relied on a provision in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act permitting the President to exclude agencies whose primary functions involve intelligence, counterintelligence, investigation, or national security. The Departments of Defense, State, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Treasury, and Energy are among the agencies covered, along with the EPA, the GSA, large portions of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Agriculture, and several independent agencies.10The White House. Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs
For employees at excluded agencies, the practical effect is the loss of union representation and collective bargaining rights. The strike ban is not affected. It exists independently under 5 U.S.C. § 7311 and 18 U.S.C. § 1918, and losing bargaining rights does not create a right to strike; if anything, it removes one of the lawful alternatives. The American Federation of Government Employees has challenged the order in federal court. As of early 2026, the Ninth Circuit declined to issue a preliminary injunction, but the underlying case continues at the district court level, and the outcome is not yet settled. Employees at affected agencies should watch the litigation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S. Code 7311 – Loyalty and Striking