By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the provisions of paragraph Eighth of subdivision SECOND of section 2 of the Civil Service Act of January 16, 1883 (22 Stat. 403, 404), it is hereby ordered that the positions of such examiners and other experts in the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, as are necessary to enable the said Departments and Commissions to carry out their functions under Public Resolution No. 113, 75th Congress, approved June 16, 1938, establishing the temporary National Economic Committee, and the compensation of which is paid from funds allocated to the said Departments and Commissions by the President from the appropriation made by the Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1938, Public No. 723, 75th Congress, approved June 25, 1938, for carrying out the provisions of the said Public Resolution No. 113, may be filled by the said Departments and Commissions without compliance with the requirements of the Civil Service Rules. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 2, 1938.
Executive Order 7942—Authorizing the Employment of Certain Examiners and Other Experts Paid From Funds Authorized by Public Resolution No. 113, 75th Congress, Without Compliance With the Civil Service Rules
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The positions of such examiners and other experts in the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, as are necessary to enable the said Departments and Commissions to carry out their functions under Public Resolution No. 113, 75th Congress, approved June 16, 1938, establishing the temporary National Economic Committee, and the compensation of which is paid from funds allocated to the said Departments and Commissions by the President from the appropriation made by the Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1938, Public No. 723, 75th Congress, approved June 25, 1938, for carrying out the…
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 August 2, 1938, this order concerns Authorizing the Employment of Certain Examiners and Other Experts Paid From Funds Authorized by Public Resolution No. 113, 75th Congress, Without Compliance With the Civil Service Rules. The positions of such examiners and other experts in the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, as are necessary to enable the said Departments and Commissions to carry out their functions under Public Resolution No. 113, 75th Congress, approved June 16, 1938, establishing…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The positions of such examiners and other experts in the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, as are necessary to enable the said Departments and Commissions to carry out their functions under Public Resolution No. 113, 75th Congress, approved June 16, 1938, establishing the temporary National Economic Committee, and the compensation of which is paid from funds allocated to the said Departments and Commissions by the President from the appropriation made by the Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1938, Public No. 723, 75th Congress, approved June 25, 1938, for carrying out the…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7942 (Aug. 2, 1938), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7942-authorizing-the-employment-certain-examiners-and-other-experts-paid.