By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to within-grade salary advancements for employees whose positions are classified in accordance with the salary schedule contained in Executive Order No. 6746 of June 21. 1934: 1. The compensation increments within each of the several grades established In Executive Order No. 6746 shall be: Grades 1 to 7, inclusive -------------- $60 Grades 8 to 12, inclusive ------------ $100 Grades 13 to 16, inclusive ----------- $200 Grades 17 to 19, inclusive ----------- $250 2. So far as possible within the limits of available appropriations, all employees whose positions are classified in accordance with the salary schedule contained in Executive Order No. 6746, who have not attained the maximum rate of compensation for the grade to which their positions are respectively allocated, shall be advanced in compensation one increment within the grade at the beginning of the next quarter following the completion of: (1) Each eighteen months of service if such employees are in grades in which the increments are $60 or $100, or (2) each thirty months of service if such employees are in grades in which the increments are $200 or $250, subject to the following conditions: (a) An employee shall not be advanced if he has received an equivalent increase in compensation from any cause during such period, except increases made pursuant to section 4 of this order. (b) An employee shall not be advanced unless his current efficiency is good or better than good. The term "good" shall have the meaning attributed to it in the system of efficiency rating approved by the Civil Service Commission for the agency concerned, and each agency affected by this order shall maintain such a system. (c) The service and conduct of the employee shall be certified by the head of the department or agency, or such official as he may designate, as otherwise satisfactory. (d) In any case in which the granting of a full increment would have the effect of increasing an employee's salary to an amount in excess of the maximum for his grade, only that part of the increment which will increase his salary to such maximum shall be granted. 3. The initial increment payable hereunder shall be effective October 1, 1941, and service rendered prior to that date up to a maximum of eighteen or thirty months, as the case may be, may be counted in meeting the requirements as to length of service under section 2 hereof. 4. Within the limits of available appropriations, and in recognition of especially meritorious services, the head of any department or agency is authorized to make additional within-grade compensation advancements, but any such additional advancements shall not exceed one increment, and no employee shall be eligible for more than one additional advancement hereunder within each of the time periods specified in section 2 hereof. All actions under this section and the reasons therefor shall be reported to the Civil Service Commission. The Commission shall consolidate the information so received and transmit it to Congress. 5. No increase in compensation to meet the minimum rate established by the head of the agency concerned for the grade to which the employee's position is allocated shall be construed as a within-grade salary advancement. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 1, 1941.
Executive Order 8842—Regulations Pertaining to Within-Grade Salary Advancements for Employees Classified Under the Salary Schedule of Executive Order No. 6746 of June 21, 1934
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to within-grade salary advancements for employees whose positions are classified in accordance with the salary schedule contained in Executive Order No. 6746 of June 21. 1934: 1.
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 1, 1941, this order concerns Regulations Pertaining to Within-Grade Salary Advancements for Employees Classified Under the Salary Schedule of Executive Order No. 6746 of June 21, 1934. I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to within-grade salary advancements for employees whose positions are classified in accordance with the salary schedule contained in Executive Order No. 6746 of June 21. 1934: 1.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I hereby prescribe the following regulations pertaining to within-grade salary advancements for employees whose positions are classified in accordance with the salary schedule contained in Executive Order No. 6746 of June 21. 1934: 1.
The compensation increments within each of the several grades established In Executive Order No. 6746 shall be: Grades 1 to 7, inclusive -------------- $60 Grades 8 to 12, inclusive ------------ $100 Grades 13 to 16, inclusive ----------- $200 Grades 17 to 19, inclusive ----------- $250 2.
So far as possible within the limits of available appropriations, all employees whose positions are classified in accordance with the salary schedule contained in Executive Order No. 6746, who have not attained the maximum rate of compensation for the grade to which their positions are respectively allocated, shall be advanced in compensation one increment within the grade at the beginning of the next quarter following the completion of: (1) Each eighteen months of service if such employees are in grades in which the increments are $60 or $100, or (2) each thirty months of service if such employees are in grades in which the increments are $200 or $250, subject to the following conditions: (a) An employee shall not be advanced if he has…
An employee shall not be advanced unless his current efficiency is good or better than good.
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 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."
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.
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.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)
George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8842 (Aug. 1, 1941), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8842-regulations-pertaining-within-grade-salary-advancements-for-employees.