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Executive Order 10557 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10557—Approving the Revised Provision in Government Contracts Relating to Nondiscrimination in Employment

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower
•
Friday, September 3, 1954
•
2 min read (438 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 1954-09-03, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Approving the Revised Provision in Government Contracts Relating to Nondiscrimination in Employment." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ The aforesaid provision shall include, but not be limited to, the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship.
▪ NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes, and as President of the United States, and in order to clarify the provisions of the existing orders, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.
▪ The contract provision relating to nondiscrimination in employment, recommended by the Committee on Government Contracts, is hereby approved.
▪ The contracting agencies of the Government shall hereafter include the approved nondiscrimination provision in all contracts executed by them on and after a date 90 days subsequent to the date of this order, except: a.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Branch Departments 🏛️ General Body of the People
Total Words
438
3,000 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
21.1
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10557, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Sep 3, 1954). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10557-approving-the-revised-provision-government-contracts-relating.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
WHEREAS the contracting agencies of the United States Government are required by existing Executive orders to include in all contracts executed by them a provision obligating the contractor not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin, and obligating the contractor to include a similar clause in all subcontracts, and WHEREAS the Committee on Government Contracts is authorized by Executive Order 10479, as amended? to make recommendations to the contracting agencies for improving and making more effective the nondiscrimination provision of Government contracts, and WHEREAS the Committee on Government Contracts, in consultation with the principal contracting agencies of the Government, has recommended that in the future the contracting agencies of the Government include in place of, and as a means of better explaining, the present nondiscrimination provision of Government contracts, the following provision: In connection with the performance of work under this contract, the contractor agrees not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, or national origin. The aforesaid provision shall include, but not be limited to, the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship. The contractor agrees to post hereafter in conspicuous places, available for employees and applicants for employment, notices to be provided by the contracting officer setting forth the provisions of the non-discrimination clause. The contractor further agrees to insert the foregoing provision in all subcontracts hereunder, except subcontracts for standard commercial supplies or raw materials. NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes, and as President of the United States, and in order to clarify the provisions of the existing orders, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The contract provision relating to nondiscrimination in employment, recommended by the Committee on Government Contracts, is hereby approved. SEC. 2. The contracting agencies of the Government shall hereafter include the approved nondiscrimination provision in all contracts executed by them on and after a date 90 days subsequent to the date of this order, except: a. Contracts and subcontracts to be performed outside the United States where no recruitment of workers within the limits of the United States is involved; and b. Contracts and subcontracts to meet other special requirements or emergencies, if recommended by the Committee on Government Contracts. SEC. 3. The General Services Administration shall take appropriate action to revise the standard Government contract forms to accord with the provisions of this order. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER THE WHITE HOUSE, September 3, 1954.