The latest loss came earlier this week when an arbitrator ruled that the Agriculture Department violated its collective bargaining agreement and committed unfair labor practices when it ended its telework and mandated Rural Development Agency employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) return to the office without negotiating the terms first.

Margaret Donaghy, the arbitrator in this case, found USDA “committed unfair labor practices (ULPs) when it engaged in bad faith bargaining and implemented a rule that conflicted with the existing agreement. The nature and scope of the agency’s breaches amounted to a repudiation of the agreement.” The agency changed the remote work and telework agreements for 135 employees, 46 of which required remote work as a condition of employment.

This arbitrator ruling on Aug. 19 is at least the 12th grievance that the Trump administration has lost over the last year. Suzanne Summerlin, the attorney for AFSCME, said different arbitrators have ruled in favor of grievances from the IRS, the departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development, the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Forest Service.