In Codes of Fair Competition heretofore or hereafter approved, which provide for the abolition of homework, the question has arisen or may arise as to whether the abolition of homework has precluded certain persons who are incapacitated for factory work from their former opportunities for obtaining employment. Pursuant to the authority vested in me by Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act and in order to carry out the purposes and policy of said Title of said Act, and upon due consideration of the facts and upon the report and recommendation of the Administrator, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt , President of the United States, do hereby order that no provision of any Code of Fair Competition heretofore or hereafter approved pursuant to said Title of said Act, shall be so construed or applied as to violate the following rules and regulations which are hereby promulgated and prescribed, to-wit: 1. A person may bo permitted to engage in homework at the same rate of wages as is paid for the same type of work performed in the factory or other regular place of business if a certificate is obtained from the State authority or other officer designated by the United States Department of Labor, such certificate to be granted in accordance with instructions issued by the United States Department of Labor, provided (a) Such person is physically incapacitated for work in a factory or other regular place of business and is free from any contagious disease; or (b) Such person is unable to leave home because Ins or her services are absolutely essential for attendance on a person who is bedridden or an invalid and both such persons are free from any contagious disease. 2. Any employer engaging such a person shall keep such certificate on file and shall file with the Code Authority for the trade or industry or subdivision thereof concerned the name and address of each worker so certificated. This Order shall become effective immediately and shall be binding upon all trades, industries or subdivisions thereof and members thereof subject to Codes of Fair Competition in which homework is prohibited, and, to the extent necessary to permit the full application and operation of the foregoing rules and regulations, shall operate as a condition upon any previous order approving any Code of Fair Competition under Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, and shall remain in effect until revoked or modified by my further order or by order of the Administrator for Industrial Recovery; provided, however, that this Order shall not apply to or affect Codes of Fair Competition heretofore or hereafter approved for food or allied products trades, industries or subdivisions thereof, which contain provisions prohibiting the manufacture and/or processing of food products in homes. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Approval Recommended: Hugh S Johnson Administrator for Industrial Recovery. The White House, May 15, 1934.
Executive Order 6711 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Executive Order 6711-A—Prescribing Rules and Regulations for the Interpretation and Application of Certain Labor Provisions of Codes of Fair Competition as They May Affect Certain Homeworkers
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (477 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
No provision of any Code of Fair Competition heretofore or hereafter approved pursuant to said Title of said Act, shall be so construed or applied as to violate the following rules and regulations which are hereby promulgated and prescribed, to-wit: 1.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities 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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 15, 1934, this order concerns Prescribing Rules and Regulations for the Interpretation and Application of Certain Labor Provisions of Codes of Fair Competition as They May Affect Certain Homeworkers. No provision of any Code of Fair Competition heretofore or hereafter approved pursuant to said Title of said Act, shall be so construed or applied as to violate the following rules and regulations which are hereby promulgated and prescribed, to-wit: 1.
Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
No provision of any Code of Fair Competition heretofore or hereafter approved pursuant to said Title of said Act, shall be so construed or applied as to violate the following rules and regulations which are hereby promulgated and prescribed, to-wit: 1.
▪
A person may bo permitted to engage in homework at the same rate of wages as is paid for the same type of work performed in the factory or other regular place of business if a certificate is obtained from the State authority or other officer designated by the United States Department of Labor, such certificate to be granted in accordance with instructions issued by the United States Department of Labor, provided (a) Such person is physically incapacitated for work in a factory or other regular place of business and is free from any contagious disease; or (b) Such person is unable to leave home because Ins or her services are absolutely essential for attendance on a person who is bedridden or an invalid and both such persons are free from…
▪
Any employer engaging such a person shall keep such certificate on file and shall file with the Code Authority for the trade or industry or subdivision thereof concerned the name and address of each worker so certificated.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ 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 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 powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)
Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.
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
35 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
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
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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
477
2,933 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
28.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt around this period.
EO 6711 May 15, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6711—Prescribing a Regulation Prohibiting Dismissal of Employees for Reporting Alleged Violations of Codes of Fair Competition
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
I hereby prescribe the following rule and regulation: No employer subject to a code of fair competition approved under said title shall dismiss or demote any employee for making a complaint or giving evidence with respect to an alleged violation of the provisions of any code of…
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EO 6711 May 15, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6711-B—Supplemental Code of Fair Competition for the Plumbing Contracting Division of the Construction Industry
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt , President of the United States, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, and otherwise, do adopt and approve the report, recommendations and findings of the Administrator and do…
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EO 6710 May 15, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6710—Amendment of Executive Order No. 6354 of October 23, 1933, Prescribing Rules and Regulations Under the National Industrial Recovery Act
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 6354 of October 23, 1933, prescribing rules and regulations under the National Industrial Recovery Act is hereby amended by striking out the paragraph numbered 1 thereof and inserting in its stead the following paragraph: "Employers engaged only locally in…
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EO 6709 May 14, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6709—Making Certain Funds Available to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration for the Fiscal Year 1934
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
There is hereby made available to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration for expenditure during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1934, the sum of $100,000,000 from the sum of $350,000,000 allocated by Executive Order No. GG03, of February 15, 1934, to the said…
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 6708 May 11, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6708—Authorizing and Directing John Dickinson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, to Perform the Duties of the Director of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, in Case of Absence, Resignation, etc., of the Director of Said Bureau
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
I hereby authorize and direct John Dickinson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, to perform the duties of the Director of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce in case of the resignation, absence, or sickness of the Director of said Bureau…
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 6713 May 21, 1934
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 6713—Correction of Description of the Corundu Military Reservation, Canal Zone
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The description of the Corundu Military Reservation be, and it is hereby, corrected to read as follows: Parcel No. 1 Beginning at a point marked by a 1K in. g.i. pipe, painted MIL.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Grade 6 • 20m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6711 (May 15, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6711-prescribing-rules-and-regulations-for-the-interpretation-and.
