By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested In me by section 3 (b) of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 468), as amended by the act of January 24, 1942 (Public Law 411, 77th Congress), it is hereby ordered as follows: 1 Employees in the following classifications of Federal personnel in the Executive branch of the Government are hereby excluded from the operation of the said Retirement Act, unless eligible for retirement benefits by continuity of service, by reinstatement, or otherwise: (a) Employees whose expected service will be for brief periods but not to exceed one year. (b) Employees paid by the hour, day, month, or year when actually employed, whose employment is periodic, parttime, or recurrent and for whom a regular tour of duty is not contemplated. (c) Employees and consultants paid on a contract or fee basis. (d) Employees paid on a piece-work basis, except when serving under regular or permanent appointment. (e) Cooperative employees not wholly under the control of the Federal Government and not otherwise subject to the Civil Service Retirement Act. (f) Officers and employees without compensation or with nominal compensation of $12.00 or less per annum. (g) Intermittent alien employees engaged on work outside the continental limits of the United States. (h) Member and patient employees in government hospitals or homes. (i) Employees serving under temporary appointments pending final determination of their eligibility for permanent or Indefinite appointment. (j) Acting postmasters, clerks in fourth class post offices, substitute rural carriers, and special delivery messengers at second, third, and fourth class post offices. 2. The Civil Service Commission is authorized to determine the applicability of the above classifications to specific officers and employees or groups of officers and employees in the Executive branch of the Government. 3. This order shall be effective as of January 24, 1942, except that it shall not be so construed as to defeat any retirement rights of officers and employees acquired before the date of this order. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, May 1, 1942.
Executive Order 9154—Authorizing Certain Exclusions From the Operation of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 29, 1930, as Amended
Executive Brief • At a Glance
1 Employees in the following classifications of Federal personnel in the Executive branch of the Government are hereby excluded from the operation of the said Retirement Act, unless eligible for retirement benefits by continuity of service, by reinstatement, or otherwise: (a) Employees whose expected service will be for brief periods but not to exceed one year.
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 1, 1942, this order concerns Authorizing Certain Exclusions From the Operation of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 29, 1930, as Amended. 1 Employees in the following classifications of Federal personnel in the Executive branch of the Government are hereby excluded from the operation of the said Retirement Act, unless eligible for retirement benefits by continuity of service, by reinstatement, or otherwise: (a) Employees whose expected service will be for brief periods but not to exceed one year.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
1 Employees in the following classifications of Federal personnel in the Executive branch of the Government are hereby excluded from the operation of the said Retirement Act, unless eligible for retirement benefits by continuity of service, by reinstatement, or otherwise: (a) Employees whose expected service will be for brief periods but not to exceed one year.
The Civil Service Commission is authorized to determine the applicability of the above classifications to specific officers and employees or groups of officers and employees in the Executive branch of the Government. 3.
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
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
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
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.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (3)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 9154 (May 1, 1942), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9154-authorizing-certain-exclusions-from-the-operation-the-civil-service.