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Executive Order 14003 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.69) 📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service

Executive Order 14003—Protecting the Federal Workforce

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Friday, January 22, 2021
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4 min read (870 words)
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86 Fed. Reg. 7231

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (870 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

The creation of a new Schedule F excepted service category in Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), not only was unnecessary to the conditions of good administration, but also undermined the foundations of the civil service and its merit system principles, which were essential to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883's repudiation of the spoils system.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on January 22, 2021, this order concerns Protecting the Federal Workforce. Career civil servants are the backbone of the Federal workforce, providing the expertise and experience necessary for the critical functioning of the Federal Government. It is the policy of the United States to protect, empower, and rebuild the career Federal workforce. It is also the policy of the United States to encourage union organizing and collective bargaining.

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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Revocation of Schedule F

The creation of a new Schedule F excepted service category in Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), not only was unnecessary to the conditions of good administration, but also undermined the foundations of the civil service and its merit system principles, which were essential to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883's repudiation of the spoils system.

▪
Revocation of Certain Presidential and Regulatory Actions

Executive Order 13836 of May 25, 2018 (Developing Efficient, Effective, and Cost-Reducing Approaches to Federal Sector Collective Bargaining), is hereby revoked.

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Ensuring the Right to Engage in Collective Bargaining

The head of each agency subject to the provisions of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, shall elect to negotiate over the subjects set forth in 5 U.S.C. 7106(b)(1) and shall instruct subordinate officials to do the same.

▪
Progress Toward a Living Wage for Federal Employees

The Director of OPM shall provide a report to the President with recommendations to promote a $15/hour minimum wage for Federal employees.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️

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
📐

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
43 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

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

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

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

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%).
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
870
5,533 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.2
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.69
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Policy . Career civil servants are the backbone of the Federal workforce, providing the expertise and experience necessary for the critical functioning of the Federal Government. It is the policy of the United States to protect, empower, and rebuild the career Federal workforce. It is also the policy of the United States to encourage union organizing and collective bargaining. The Federal Government should serve as a model employer.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Revocation of Schedule F . (a) The creation of a new Schedule F excepted service category in Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), not only was unnecessary to the conditions of good administration, but also undermined the foundations of the civil service and its merit system principles, which were essential to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883's repudiation of the spoils system. Accordingly, to enhance the efficiency of the civil service and to promote good administration and systematic application of merit system principles, Executive Order 13957 is hereby revoked. (b) The heads of all executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, consistent with law, immediately suspend, revise, or rescind proposed actions, decisions, petitions, rules, regulations or other guidance pursuant to, or to effectuate, Executive Order 13957. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shall immediately cease processing or granting any petitions that seek to convert positions to Schedule F or to create new positions in Schedule F.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Revocation of Certain Presidential and Regulatory Actions . (a) Executive Order 13836 of May 25, 2018 (Developing Efficient, Effective, and Cost-Reducing Approaches to Federal Sector Collective Bargaining), is hereby revoked. The Interagency Labor Relations Working Group is hereby disbanded and the Director of OPM shall withdraw all materials issued by this working group that are inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order. (b) Executive Order 13837 of May 25, 2018 (Ensuring Transparency, Accountability, and Efficiency in Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Use), is hereby revoked. (c) Executive Order 13839 of May 25, 2018 (Promoting Accountability and Streamlining Removal Procedures Consistent with Merit System Principles), is hereby revoked. (d) The Presidential Memorandum of October 11, 2019 (Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839), is hereby revoked. (e) The heads of agencies whose practices were covered by Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839 (affected agencies) shall review and identify existing agency actions related to or arising from those orders. Such actions include: (i) Actions related to the authorization of union time described in sections 4(b) and 5(b) of Executive Order 13837; (ii) Actions related to the system for monitoring the use of union time described in section 5(c) of Executive Order 13837; (iii) Guidance promulgated pursuant to section 7(d) of Executive Order 13837; (iv) Actions taken pursuant to section 8 of Executive Order 13837; (v) Revisions to discipline and unacceptable performance policies, including ones codified in bargaining agreements, issued pursuant to section 7(b) of Executive Order 13839; and (vii) The final rule entitled "Probation on Initial Appointment to a Competitive Position, Performance-Based Reduction in Grade and Removal Actions and Adverse Actions," 85 Fed. Reg . 65940 (October 16, 2020). (f) The heads of affected agencies shall, as soon as practicable, suspend, revise, or rescind, or publish for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or rescinding, the actions identified in the review described in subsection (e) of this section, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law and the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

Ensuring the Right to Engage in Collective Bargaining . The head of each agency subject to the provisions of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, shall elect to negotiate over the subjects set forth in 5 U.S.C. 7106(b)(1) and shall instruct subordinate officials to do the same.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

Progress Toward a Living Wage for Federal Employees . The Director of OPM shall provide a report to the President with recommendations to promote a $15/hour minimum wage for Federal employees.

Sec. 6 . #sec-6

Severability . If any provision of this order, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 7 . #sec-7

General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR. The White House, January 22, 2021.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (3)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 14,003, 86 Fed. Reg. 7231 (Jan. 22, 2021).