WASHINGTON, DC — Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. of Federal District Court has overturned an executive order issued by President George W. Bush, ruling that the president used federal procurement regulations illegally to displace federal labor laws.

The executive order had mandated federal contractors to post notices informing workers that they did not have to join unions. It also required the notices to tell workers that they do not have to pay that portion of their union dues applied for political action.

Kennedy’s decision stated that federal and state regulators are not allowed to set their own standards of conduct regulated by the National Labor Relations Act. The Bush administration indicated that it would appeal.