Executive Order 8781 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 8781—Requiring Employees in the Executive Civil Service To Be Fingerprinted

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Thursday, June 12, 1941

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1 min read (223 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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1941-06-12, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Requiring Employees in the Executive Civil Service To Be Fingerprinted." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

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

▪ All employees in the executive civil service of the Government whose fingerprints are not now on file in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, or in the agency in which they are employed, are hereby required to be fingerprinted in accordance with the procedure established by the head of the department or agency in which they are employed.

▪ Before any original appointment or reinstatement is made to a position in the executive civil service of the Government, the person concerned shall be fingerprinted in accordance with the procedure established by the Civil Service Commission or by the head of the department or agency in which the appointment or reinstatement is to be made.

▪ All fingerprints of employees not now on file in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and all fingerprints required to be taken by section 2 hereof, shall be transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the head of the department or agency concerned for checking and report as to criminal records, and for permanent classification and filing.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

223

1,331 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

18.6

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 8781, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jun 12, 1941). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8781-requiring-employees-the-executive-civil-service-be-fingerprinted.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Civil Service Act (22 Stat. 403) and section 1753 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows. SECTION 1. All employees in the executive civil service of the Government whose fingerprints are not now on file in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, or in the agency in which they are employed, are hereby required to be fingerprinted in accordance with the procedure established by the head of the department or agency in which they are employed. SECTION 2. Before any original appointment or reinstatement is made to a position in the executive civil service of the Government, the person concerned shall be fingerprinted in accordance with the procedure established by the Civil Service Commission or by the head of the department or agency in which the appointment or reinstatement is to be made. SECTION 3. All fingerprints of employees not now on file in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and all fingerprints required to be taken by section 2 hereof, shall be transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the head of the department or agency concerned for checking and report as to criminal records, and for permanent classification and filing. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, June 12, 1941.