PERMITTING STUDENTS COMPLETING APPROVED CAREER-RELATED WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS TO BE APPOINTED TO CAREER OR CAREER-CONDITIONAL POSITIONS IN THE COMPETITIVE SERVICE By virtue of the authority vested in me by Sections 3301 and 3302 of Title 5 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. As used in this order "career-related work-study programs" are those programs established by the United States Civil Service Commission which provide for a formally-arranged schedule of periods of attendance at an accredited school combined with periods of career-related work in a Federal agency under a Schedule B appointment. SEC. 2. The appointment of a student to a position in a career-related workstudy program may be converted noncompetitively to a career or career-conditional appointment if the student: (a) has completed within the preceding 120 days an educational program that meets the provisions established by the Civil Service Commission; (b) has satisfied all course requirements leading to completion of the related curriculum at an accredited school; (c) is recommended for such an appointment by the employing agency in which the career-related work was performed; and, (d) satisfies such other requirements and conditions as the Civil Service Commission may prescribe for career or career-conditional appointment of an individual in career-related work-study programs. SEC. 3. The Civil Service Commission shall prescribe such regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this order and to provide for the continuation of planning, implementation and evaluation of employment programs for students throughout the Government. These regulations shall provide for the periodic evaluation of the work of each student and require that each student's continuation in the program shall be dependent upon a finding of satisfactory performance. SEC. 4. Executive Order No. 11813 of October 7, 1974, is hereby revoked. JIMMY CARTER The White House, October 26, 1977. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:25 p.m., October 27, 1977]
Executive Order 12015 Superseded ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Executive Order 12015—Work-Study Program Students
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (323 words) •
● Superseded
🎯 Primary Mandate
As used in this order "career-related work-study programs" are those programs established by the United States Civil Service Commission which provide for a formally-arranged schedule of periods of attendance at an accredited school combined with periods of career-related work in a Federal agency under a Schedule B appointment.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Legal Status & Amendment History
SupersededThis order is no longer in effect according to the Federal Register's executive order disposition tables.
Source: Office of the Federal Register executive order disposition notes. Orders before 1994 show only actions recorded by later orders.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 26, 1977, this order concerns Work-Study Program Students. As used in this order "career-related work-study programs" are those programs established by the United States Civil Service Commission which provide for a formally-arranged schedule of periods of attendance at an accredited school combined with periods of career-related work in a Federal agency under a Schedule B appointment. SEC. 2.
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
As used in this order "career-related work-study programs" are those programs established by the United States Civil Service Commission which provide for a formally-arranged schedule of periods of attendance at an accredited school combined with periods of career-related work in a Federal agency under a Schedule B appointment.
▪
The appointment of a student to a position in a career-related workstudy program may be converted noncompetitively to a career or career-conditional appointment if the student: (a) has completed within the preceding 120 days an educational program that meets the provisions established by the Civil Service Commission; (b) has satisfied all course requirements leading to completion of the related curriculum at an accredited school; (c) is recommended for such an appointment by the employing agency in which the career-related work was performed; and, (d) satisfies such other requirements and conditions as the Civil Service Commission may prescribe for career or career-conditional appointment of an individual in career-related work-study…
▪
The Civil Service Commission shall prescribe such regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this order and to provide for the continuation of planning, implementation and evaluation of employment programs for students throughout the Government.
▪
These regulations shall provide for the periodic evaluation of the work of each student and require that each student's continuation in the program shall be dependent upon a finding of satisfactory performance.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"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 president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐
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
39 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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%).
ℹ️
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
323
2,133 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.9
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Barack Obama • 2010-12-27
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11813 Oct 7, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11813—Permitting Cooperative Education Students to be Given Career or Career-Conditional Appointments
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
As used in this order, "cooperative education" describes a program which provides for a formally arranged schedule of periods of attendance at an institution of higher learning combined with periods of study-related work in a Federal agency under a Schedule B appointment.
Gerald R. Ford Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 12016 Oct 31, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12016—Exemption From Mandatory Retirement
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Joseph Minetti, Member, Civil Aeronautics Board, became subject to mandatory retirement for age on July 31, 1977, under the provisions of Section 8335 of Title 5 of the United States Code unless exempted by Executive Order.
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 12014 Oct 19, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12014—President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, and as President of the United States of America, the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 10717, as amended, is further…
Jimmy Carter College Level • 2m
EO 12019 Nov 3, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12019—Defense Meritorious Service Medal
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is hereby established a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances, for award by the Secretary of Defense to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who has rendered outstanding non-combat meritorious achievement or service…
Jimmy Carter Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 12018 Nov 3, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12018—American Prisoners of War
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
AMENDING THE MANUAL FOR COURTS-MARTIAL, UNITED STATES, 1969 (REVISED EDITION) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States who are captured and held prisoner by a hostile armed force are effectively outside the direct operational control of United States military authorities.
Jimmy Carter Post-Graduate Legal • 3m
EO 12017 Nov 3, 1977
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12017—American Prisoners of War
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The Code of Conduct has been an established standard of behavior for all members of the Armed Forces of the United States for more than twenty years. It has helped individuals in captivity to sustain their moral and physical strength and to survive extreme torture and abuse.
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,015 (Oct. 26, 1977), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12015-work-study-program-students.
