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Executive Order 13152 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service

Executive Order 13152—Further Amendment to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in Federal Government

William J. Clinton William J. Clinton
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Tuesday, May 2, 2000
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1 min read (296 words)
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65 Fed. Reg. 26115

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 1 min read (296 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Executive Order 11478, as amended, is further amended as follows: Section 1.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Branch Departments General Body of the People
Inspect unabridged text ↓

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 May 2, 2000, this order concerns Further Amendment to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in Federal Government. Executive Order 11478, as amended, is further amended as follows: Section 1. Amend the first sentence of section 1 by substituting "sexual orientation, or status as a parent." for "or sexual orientation." 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

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Executive Order 11478, as amended, is further amended as follows: Section 1.

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Amend the first sentence of section 1 by substituting "sexual orientation, or status as a parent." for "or sexual orientation." Sec. 2.

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The Office of Personnel Management shall be authorized to develop guidance on the provisions of this order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of an individual’s sexual orientation or status as a parent." Sec. 3.

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Amend section 4 by substituting "and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities under this Order." for "appropriate to carry out this Order." Sec. 4.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Branch Departments 🏛️ General Body of the People

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Civil Rights & Liberties
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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)
§

"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

"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: Supportive of Execution
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
296
1,708 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.6
College Level
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (5 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2Sec. 3Sec. 4Sec. 5

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and in order to provide for a uniform policy for the Federal Government to prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s status as a parent, it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 11478, as amended, is further amended as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Amend the first sentence of section 1 by substituting "sexual orientation, or status as a parent." for "or sexual orientation."

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Insert the following new sections 6 and 7 after section 5: "Sec. 6. ‘Status as a parent’ refers to the status of an individual who, with respect to an individual who is under the age of 18 or who is 18 or older but is incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability, is: (a) a biological parent; (b) an adoptive parent; (c) a foster parent; (d) a stepparent; (e) a custodian of a legal ward; (f) in loco parentis over such an individual; or (g) actively seeking legal custody or adoption of such an individual. "Sec. 7. The Office of Personnel Management shall be authorized to develop guidance on the provisions of this order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of an individual’s sexual orientation or status as a parent."

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Amend section 4 by substituting "and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities under this Order." for "appropriate to carry out this Order."

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Renumber current sections 6, 7, and 8 as sections 8, 9, and 10, respectively.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Add a section 11 to read as follows: "Sec. 11. This Executive Order does not confer any right or benefit enforceable in law or equity against the United States or its representatives." William J. Clinton

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

May 2, 2000.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,152, 65 Fed. Reg. 26,115 (May 2, 2000).