The Department of Veterans Affairs has been ordered to reinstate its collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees, after VA officials made a third attempt to terminate the union contract.

A federal judge on Friday granted AFGE’s motion to enforce a preliminary injunction that earlier this year ordered VA to uphold its collective bargaining agreement while a lawsuit continued.

The judge’s order came after VA informed AFGE on July 24 of its intent to re-terminate the union contract on Aug. 8 — the date the agreement was initially set to expire.

The collective bargaining agreement between VA and AFGE allows for an automatic, temporary extension of the existing contract while negotiations for a new contract proceed. But VA officials held that AFGE had not issued an official notice of intent to negotiate within the required 30 days prior to the contract’s expiration.