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Executive Order 11073 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process

Executive Order 11073—Providing for Federal Salary Administration

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Wednesday, January 2, 1963
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8 min read (1,690 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 8 min read (1,690 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Director of the Bureau of the Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission shall submit to the President, not later than December 31 of each year, a report comparing the rates of salary fixed for Federal employees compensated under the statutes listed in this section with the rates of salary paid for the same levels of work in private enterprise as determined on the basis of the National Survey of Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: (a) The Classification Act of 1949, as amended (5 U.S.C. 1071 et seq. ).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President John F. Kennedy on January 2, 1963, this order concerns Providing for Federal Salary Administration. Heads of departments and agencies in the executive branch of the Government are directed: (a) To make full use of the authorities provided by the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 and the statutory salary systems to which that Act refers in such a manner as to secure and maintain the high quality of Federal personnel necessary for an effective and efficient overnment service; (b) To use such authorities in such a…

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The Director of the Bureau of the Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission shall submit to the President, not later than December 31 of each year, a report comparing the rates of salary fixed for Federal employees compensated under the statutes listed in this section with the rates of salary paid for the same levels of work in private enterprise as determined on the basis of the National Survey of Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: (a) The Classification Act of 1949, as amended (5 U.S.C. 1071 et seq. ).

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The Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 801 et seq. ).

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Such report shall contain such recommendations with respect to statutory salary schedules, salary structures, compensation policy, and other related matters, as the Director and the Chairman deem advisable.

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In preparing such report the Director and the Chairman shall obtain and consider such recommendations as may be made to them by the heads of the agencies employing personnel under any of the statutes listed in (b) , (c) , or (d) , and such recommendations shall be transmitted to the President with such report.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: High Bill of Rights Scrutiny
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
52 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
1,690
10,504 characters
Estimated Read Time
8 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.9
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by sections 503, 504, and 505 of the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 (Public Law 87-793; 76 Stat. 841-843), and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: PART I---GENERAL POLICY SECTION 101. Heads of departments and agencies in the executive branch of the Government are directed: (a) To make full use of the authorities provided by the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 and the statutory salary systems to which that Act refers in such a manner as to secure and maintain the high quality of Federal personnel necessary for an effective and efficient overnment service; (b) To use such authorities in such a manner as to (1) motivate employees to perform continuously at their full capacity, and (2) provide fair treatment in pay matters of all employees subject to such statutory salary systems; and (c) To take all appropriate measures to ensure that the Government receives full value for its expenditures for salaries and that every employee is paid no more than is warranted by the nature of his assignments and the degree of competence with which he performs them. PART II---ANNUAL SALARY REVIEW SECTION 201. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission shall submit to the President, not later than December 31 of each year, a report comparing the rates of salary fixed for Federal employees compensated under the statutes listed in this section with the rates of salary paid for the same levels of work in private enterprise as determined on the basis of the National Survey of Professional, Administrative, Technical, and Clerical Pay conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: (a) The Classification Act of 1949, as amended (5 U.S.C. 1071 et seq. ). (b) Part III of title 39, United States Code, relating to personnel in the postal field service. (c) The Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 801 et seq. ). (d) Chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, relating to personnel of the Department of Medicine and Surgery in the Veterans' Administration. Such report shall contain such recommendations with respect to statutory salary schedules, salary structures, compensation policy, and other related matters, as the Director and the Chairman deem advisable. In preparing such report the Director and the Chairman shall obtain and consider such recommendations as may be made to them by the heads of the agencies employing personnel under any of the statutes listed in (b) , (c) , or (d) , and such recommendations shall be transmitted to the President with such report. SEC. 202. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission shall (1) provide authorized representatives of such Federal employee organizations as they deem appropriate with (i) the findings of the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey referred to in section 201, and (ii) the methods and results of their comparison of Federal salary schedules with the findings of the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (2) establish suitable means for receiving and considering the views of such employee organizations thereon; and (3) transmit the views of such employee organizations to the President with the report required by section 201. SEC. 203. The heads of the agencies employing personnel under any of the statutes listed in section 201 shall provide such information and technical staff assistance with respect to the statutory salary systems applicable to their agencies as may be requested by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, in carrying out the provisions of sections 201 and 202. PART III--SPECIAL RATES FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION SECTION 301. Subject to the provisions of sections 302 and 303, the Civil Service Commission is hereby designated and authorized to exercise the authority conferred upon the President by the provisions of sections 504(a) and 504(b) of the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 to establish and revise higher minimum rates of basic compensation (1) for positions compensated under section 603 (b) of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended (5 U.S.C. 1113 (b)), and (2) after consultation with the head of the department or agency concerned, for positions compensated (i) under the provisions of part III of title 39, United States Code, relating to personnel in the postal field service, (ii) the pay scales for physicians, dentists, and nurses in the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans' Administration under chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, or (iii) sections 412 and 415 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 867 and 870). SEC. 302(a). The Civil Service Commission shall not establish higher rates of compensation under section 504 of the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 unless the Commission first determines that the salary rates in private enterprise for one or more occupations in one or more areas or locations are so substantially above the salary rates of statutory pay schedules as to handicap significantly the Government's recruitment or retention of well-qualified personnel. Before so determining, the Commission shall satisfy itself that adequate attention has been given to other relevant factors, such as the conduct of an adequate recruiting program and the improvement of working conditions: Provided, That whenever statistically valid salary data (such as Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys) indicate that salary rates in private enterprise for one or more work levels for an occupation or group of occupations exceed statutory salary rates for the corresponding work levels by at least ten percent in an area or location where the Commission determines that the Government's recruitment or retention of qualified personnel is significantly handicapped, it may conclude without further investigation that such handicap is due to the difference in salary rates rather than to other factors. (b) The Civil Service Commission shall not establish higher rates for all positions in a statutory grade or level in a given area unless the Commission determines that (1) the average of the salary rates in private enterprise for equivalent work levels in such area is at least ten percent above the fourth step rate of such statutory grade or level and (2) adequate recruitment and retention cannot be achieved by establishment of higher rates for certain occupations or groups of occupations. SEC. 303. The Civil Service Commission shall review annually any higher rates of basic compensation established under section 504 of the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 and, after consultation with the department or agency concerned in the case of salary systems other than the Classification Act, shall continue, abolish, or revise such special rates in consideration of the current facts and the criteria set forth in section 302. No employee shall have his salary reduced because of a change, pursuant to the provisions of this section, in a minimum or other rate of a grade or level. PART IV--CLASSIFICATION ACT SYSTEM SECTION 401. The Civil Service Commission shall revoke the position classification authority of any department or agency under the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, whenever the Commission finds, in connection with its regular inspections, or otherwise, that any such department or agency has failed to classify its positions in accordance with applicable standards. SEC. 402. The Civil Service Commission shall issue such regulations and standards as may be necessary to ensure that only those employees whose work is of an acceptable level of competence receive step increases under the provisions of section 701 (a) of the Classification Act. SEC. 408(a). Each department and agency in the executive branch of the Government employing personnel under the Classification Act shall establish a plan for granting additional step-increases in recognition of high quality performance under section 702 of that Act.. Such plans shall (1) be as simple as practicable, (2) provide for delegation of authority to an appropriate management level, (8) seek to ensure fairness to all employs, and (4) provide for informing employees, at least annually, of the number of such increases granted in their agencies. (b) The Civil Service Commission shall (1) establish such regulations and standards as it deems appropriate for such agency plans, (2) aid and advise agencies in the formulation and administration of such plans, and (8) inspect such plans and their operation to ensure that such step-increases are granted in a manner that is fair to employees and provides motivation for high quality performance. SEC. 404. The Civil Service Commission, in prescribing regulations for higher rates of pay pursuant to section 808 of the Classification Act for employees having responsibility for supervision of prevailingrate employees, shall give effect to the following: (a) An irregular prevailing rate (such as the saved rate of a prevailing-rate employee not related to his current position) shall not serve to advance the salary rate of a Classification Act supervisor. (b) The relative rate-ranges of a Classification Act supervisor and a prevailing-rate employee supervised by him shall be considered as well as the specific rate either is receiving at a given time. (c) Due consideration shall be .given to equities among supervisors as well as those between a supervisor and a prevailing-rate employee supervised by him. PART V--REPORTS SECTION 501. Each department and agency in the executive branch employing personnel under any of the statutory pay systems listed in section 201 shall submit annually to the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission in such form, at such time, and with such supporting information as the Chairman may prescribe, a report on the operation of that system, together with any recommendations the head of the department or agency may deem advisable. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission shall prepare and submit to the President, not later than December 31 of each year after 1962, a consolidated report, with recommendations, on the operation of each such system. PART VI--PRIOR ORDER SUPERSEDED SECTION 601(a). Executive Order No. 11056 of October 11, 1962, is hereby superseded. (b) Executive Order No. 10072 of July 29, 1949, as amended, is hereby revoked. JOHN F. KENNEDY

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

January 2, 1963

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,073 (Jan. 2, 1963), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11073-providing-for-federal-salary-administration.