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Executive Order 12933 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 12933—Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Certain Contracts

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Thursday, October 20, 1994
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8 min read (1,659 words)
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59 Fed. Reg. 53559

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 8 min read (1,659 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

This order shall not apply to (a) contracts under the simplified acquisition threshold; (b) contracts awarded pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, 41 U.S.C. 46–48a; and any future enacted law creating an employment preference for some group of workers under building services contracts; (c) guard, elevator operator, messenger, or custodial services provided to the Government under contracts with sheltered workshops employing the severely handicapped as outlined in the Edgar Amendment, section 505 of the Treasury, Postal Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 1995, Public Law 103–329; (d) agreements for vending facilities entered into under the preference provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. 107; or (e)…

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President William J. Clinton on October 20, 1994, this order concerns Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Certain Contracts. It is the policy of the Federal Government that solicitations and building service contracts for public buildings shall include a clause that requires the contractor under a contract that succeeds a contract for performance of similar services at the same public building to offer those employees (other than managerial or supervisory employees) under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Exclusions

This order shall not apply to (a) contracts under the simplified acquisition threshold; (b) contracts awarded pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, 41 U.S.C. 46–48a; and any future enacted law creating an employment preference for some group of workers under building services contracts; (c) guard, elevator operator, messenger, or custodial services provided to the Government under contracts with sheltered workshops employing the severely handicapped as outlined in the Edgar Amendment, section 505 of the Treasury, Postal Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 1995, Public Law 103–329; (d) agreements for vending facilities entered into under the preference provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. 107; or (e)…

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Contract Clause

The following contract clause shall be included in solicitations and contracts for maintenance of public buildings that succeed contracts for performance of similar work at the same public building: "Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers (a) Consistent with the efficient performance of this contract, the contractor shall, except as otherwise provided herein, in good faith offer those employees (other than managerial and supervisory employees) under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of award of this contract or the expiration of the contract under which the employees were hired, a right of first refusal to employment under the contract in positions for which employees are qualified.

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Enforcement

In such proceedings the Secretary shall have the authority to issue final orders prescribing appropriate sanctions and remedies, including, but not limited to, orders requiring employment and payment of wages lost.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ 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 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
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
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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
32 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

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

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

Moderate Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ 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
1,659
10,852 characters
Estimated Read Time
8 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

When a service contract for the maintenance of a public building expires and a follow-on contract is awarded for the same service, the successor contractor typically hires the majority of the predecessor's employees. On occasion, however, a follow-on contractor will hire a new work force, and the predecessor's employees are displaced. As a buyer and participant in the marketplace, the Government is concerned about hardships to individuals that may result from the operation of our procurement system. Furthermore, the Government's procurement interests in economy and efficiency benefit from the fact that a carryover work force will minimize disruption to the delivery of services during any period of transition and provide the Government the benefits of an experienced and trained work force rather than one that may not be familiar with the Government facility. Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 40 U.S.C. 486(a), and in order to promote economy and efficiency, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Statement of Policy. It is the policy of the Federal Government that solicitations and building service contracts for public buildings shall include a clause that requires the contractor under a contract that succeeds a contract for performance of similar services at the same public building to offer those employees (other than managerial or supervisory employees) under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of the award of the successor contract, a right of first refusal to employment under the contract in positions for which they are qualified. There shall be no employment openings under the contract until such right of first refusal has been provided. Nothing in this order shall be construed to permit a contractor to fail to comply with any provision of any other Executive order or laws of the United States.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Definitions. (a) "Public building" means any Government-owned building, whether single or multi-tenant occupancy, its grounds, approaches, and appurtenances, which is generally suitable for office or storage space or both for the use of one or more Federal agencies or mixed ownership corporations, and shall include the following: (1) Federal office buildings; (2) customhouses; (3) courthouses; (4) border inspection facilities; (5) warehouses; (6) records centers; (7) appraiser stores; and (8) relocation facilities and similar Federal facilities; but shall not include any such buildings: (A) on the public domain (including that reserved for national forests and other purposes); (B) on properties of the United States in foreign countries; (C) on Native American and Native Eskimo properties held in trust by the United States; (D) on lands used in connection with Federal programs for agricultural, recreational, and conservation purposes, including research in connection therewith; (E) on r used in connection with river, harbor, flood control, reclamation, or power projects; or for chemical manufacturing or development projects; or for nuclear production, research, or development projects; (F) on or used in connection with housing and residential projects; (G) on properties of the United States Postal Service; (H) on military installations (including any fort, camp, post, naval training station, airfield, proving ground, military supply depot, military school, or any similar facility of the Department of Defense); (I) on installations of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, except regular office buildings; and (J) on Department of Veterans Affairs installations used for hospital or domiciliary purposes. (b) "Building services contract" means a contract for recurring services related to the maintenance of a public building, e.g., janitorial, window washing, food service, laundry, protective services, lawn and grounds care, and inspection, maintenance, and repair of fixed equipment such as elevators, air-conditioning, and heating systems.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Exclusions. This order shall not apply to (a) contracts under the simplified acquisition threshold; (b) contracts awarded pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, 41 U.S.C. 46–48a; and any future enacted law creating an employment preference for some group of workers under building services contracts; (c) guard, elevator operator, messenger, or custodial services provided to the Government under contracts with sheltered workshops employing the severely handicapped as outlined in the Edgar Amendment, section 505 of the Treasury, Postal Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 1995, Public Law 103–329; (d) agreements for vending facilities entered into under the preference provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. 107; or (e) services where the contractor's employees perform work at the public building and at other locations under contracts not subject to this order (e.g., pest control or trash removal where the contractor's employees visit the site periodically and where the employees under the contract respond to service calls), provided that employees shall not be deployed in a manner that is designed to avoid the purposes of this order.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Contract Clause. The following contract clause shall be included in solicitations and contracts for maintenance of public buildings that succeed contracts for performance of similar work at the same public building: "Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers (a) Consistent with the efficient performance of this contract, the contractor shall, except as otherwise provided herein, in good faith offer those employees (other than managerial and supervisory employees) under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of award of this contract or the expiration of the contract under which the employees were hired, a right of first refusal to employment under the contract in positions for which employees are qualified. The contractor shall determine the number of employees necessary for efficient performance of this contract and may elect to employ fewer employees than the predecessor contractor employed in connection with performance of the work. Except as provided in paragraph (b), there shall be no employment opening under the contract, and the contractor shall not offer employment under the contract, to any person prior to having complied fully with this obligation. The contractor shall make an express offer of employment to eac employee as provided herein and shall state the time within which the employee must accept such offer, but in no case shall the period within which the employee must accept the offer of employment be less than 10 days. (b) Notwithstanding the contractor's obligation under paragraph (a) above, the contractor (1) may employ on the contract any employee who has worked for the contractor for at least 3 months immediately preceding the commencement of this contract and who would otherwise face lay-off or discharge, and (2) is not required to offer a right of first refusal to any employee(s) of the predecessor contractor who are not service employees within the meaning of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, 41 U.S.C. 357(b), and (3) is not required to offer a right of first refusal to any employee(s) of the predecessor contractor whom the contractor reasonably believes, based on the particular employee's past performance, has failed to perform suitably on the job. (c) In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.222–41(n), the contractor shall, not less than 60 days before completion of this contract, furnish the Contracting Officer a certified list of the names of all service employees working at the Federal facility during the last month of contract performance. The list shall also contain anniversary dates of employment on the contract either with the current or predecessor contractors of each service employee. The Contracting Officer will provide the list to the successor contractor, and the list shall be provided on request to employees or their representatives. (d) If it is determined, pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor, that the contractor is not in compliance with the requirements of this clause or any regulation or order of the Secretary, appropriate sanctions may be imposed and remedies invoked against the contractor, as provided in Executive Order No. 12933, the regulations, and relevant orders of the Secretary of Labor, or as otherwise provided by law."

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Enforcement. The Secretary of Labor is responsible for investigating and obtaining compliance with this Executive order. In such proceedings the Secretary shall have the authority to issue final orders prescribing appropriate sanctions and remedies, including, but not limited to, orders requiring employment and payment of wages lost. The Secretary also may provide that where a contractor has failed to comply with any order of the Secretary or has committed willful violations of this order or the regulations issued pursuant thereto, the contractor and its responsible officers, and any firm in which the contractor has a substantial interest, shall be ineligible to be awarded any contract or subcontract of the United States for a period of up to 3 years. This Executive order creates no rights under the Contract Disputes Act, and disputes regarding the requirement of the contract clause shall be disposed of only as provided by the Secretary of Labor in regulations issued under this Executive rder. To the extent practicable, such regulations shall favor the resolution of disputes by efficient and informal alternative dispute resolution methods. The Secretary of Labor shall, in consultation with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, issue regulations, within 180 days of the date of this order, to implement the requirements of this Executive order. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall issue, within 180 days of the date of this order, regulations in the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide for inclusion of the contract clause in Federal solicitations and contracts subject to this Executive order.

Sec. 6. #sec-6

Judicial Review. Nothing in this order is intended to provide a constitutional or statutory interpretation of any kind and it is not intended, and should not be construed, to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or its employs. This order is not intended, however, to preclude judicial review of final decisions by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq . William J. Clinton The White House, October 20, 1994. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:13 p.m., October 21, 1994]

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 12,933, 59 Fed. Reg. 53,559 (Oct. 20, 1994).