By virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of paragraph Eighth of subdivision SECOND of section 2 of the Civil Service Act (22 Stat. 403, 404), the Civil Service Commission is hereby authorized to confer a competitive classified civil-service status upon (1) those persons (six in number) now employed by the Department of Labor in the determination of wages pursuant to the provisions of the act entitled "An Act to amend the Act approved March 3, 1931, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on public buildings," approved August 30, 1935, (2) those persons (eight in number) now employed in the Conciliation Service of the Department of Labor pursuant to authority contained in the Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1935, and (3) those persons (four in number) now detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Labor from the United States Employment Service, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor: Provided , (1) that such employees were assigned to positions under authority of one of the above-cited acts at least six months prior to the date of this order and have rendered satisfactory active service for at least three months of such six months' period; (2) that they qualify in such appropriate noncompetitive tests of fitness as may be prescribed by the Civil Service Commission; (3) that they are citizens of the United States; and (4) that they are not disqualified by any provision of section 3 of Civil Service Rule V or of any other civil service rule, or by any provision of the Civil Service Act, or of any other statute or Executive order. Any employee in the several classes above cited who fails to meet the foregoing requirements shall be separated from the service within thirty days (exclusive of leave to which he is entitled) after the Civil Service Commission reports that he is ineligible for classification, unless the Secretary of Labor certifies to the Commission that the employee has rendered satisfactory service and that he should be retained although without acquiring a competitive classified status. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, June 17, 1940.
Executive Order 8447 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Executive Order 8447—Authorizing the Civil Service Commission To Confer a Competitive Classified Civil-Service Status Upon Certain Employees of the Department of Labor
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (360 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The Civil Service Commission is hereby authorized to confer a competitive classified civil-service status upon (1) those persons (six in number) now employed by the Department of Labor in the determination of wages pursuant to the provisions of the act entitled "An Act to amend the Act approved March 3, 1931, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on public buildings," approved August 30, 1935, (2) those persons (eight in number) now employed in the Conciliation Service of the Department of Labor pursuant to authority contained in the Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1935, and (3) those persons (four in number) now detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Labor…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 17, 1940, this order concerns Authorizing the Civil Service Commission To Confer a Competitive Classified Civil-Service Status Upon Certain Employees of the Department of Labor. The Civil Service Commission is hereby authorized to confer a competitive classified civil-service status upon (1) those persons (six in number) now employed by the Department of Labor in the determination of wages pursuant to the provisions of the act entitled "An Act to amend the Act approved March 3, 1931, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on…
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
▪
The Civil Service Commission is hereby authorized to confer a competitive classified civil-service status upon (1) those persons (six in number) now employed by the Department of Labor in the determination of wages pursuant to the provisions of the act entitled "An Act to amend the Act approved March 3, 1931, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on public buildings," approved August 30, 1935, (2) those persons (eight in number) now employed in the Conciliation Service of the Department of Labor pursuant to authority contained in the Second Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1935, and (3) those persons (four in number) now detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Labor…
▪
Any employee in the several classes above cited who fails to meet the foregoing requirements shall be separated from the service within thirty days (exclusive of leave to which he is entitled) after the Civil Service Commission reports that he is ineligible for classification, unless the Secretary of Labor certifies to the Commission that the employee has rendered satisfactory service and that he should be retained although without acquiring a competitive classified status.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
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: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
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
47 / 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
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
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
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
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
360
2,187 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
39.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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Other executive actions signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt around this period.
EO 8457 Jun 17, 1940
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8457—Authorizing Certain Employees of the General Accounting Office To Acquire a Classified Civil-Service Status
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Those employees of the General Accounting Office not now paid from emergency funds who were appointed prior to July 1, 1935, without regard to the civil service laws and regulations under authority of the Emergency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1935, approved June 19, 1934 (48…
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EO 8446 Jun 17, 1940
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8446—Amendment of Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as Amended
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, do hereby amend Executive Order No. 8389 of April 10, 1940, as amended, so as to extend all the provisions thereof to, and with respect to, property in which France or any national thereof has at any time on…
Franklin D. Roosevelt College Level • 1m
EO 8448 Jun 18, 1940
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8448—Exemption of Maitland S. Wright From Compulsory Retirement for Age
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
I hereby exempt the said Maitland S. Wright from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending July 31, 1941.
Franklin D. Roosevelt High School • 1m
EO 8449 Jun 19, 1940
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8449—Amendment of Subdivision VIII, Schedule A of the Civil Service Rules
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Subdivision VIII of Schedule A of the Civil Service Rules be, and it is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following paragraph: 10. Positions in the field service of the Bureau of Fisheries concerned with scientific fishery investigations when filled by the appointment of…
Franklin D. Roosevelt Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 8445 Jun 15, 1940
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8445—Amending Executive Order No. 8135 of May 15, 1939, Relating to Appeals From Decisions of the Auditor General of the Philippines to the President of the United States
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order No. 8135 of May 15, 1939, governing appeals from decisions of the Auditor General of the Philippines to the President of the United States, is hereby amended (1) by substituting for the words "within thirty days from the date of the decision appealed from"…
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EO 8452 Jun 20, 1940
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 8452—Exemption of Albert Clyde-Burton From Compulsory Retirement for Age
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
I hereby exempt the said Albert Clyde-Burton from compulsory retirement for age for a period of one year ending July 31, 1941.
Franklin D. Roosevelt College Level • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8447 (June 17, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8447-authorizing-the-civil-service-commission-confer-competitive.
