Executive Order 8955 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 8955—Extending the Classification Act of 1923, as Amended, to Certain Positions in the War Department and in the Navy Department and Establishing a Salary Differential Therefor

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Monday, December 1, 1941

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2 min read (325 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 1941-12-01, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Extending the Classification Act of 1923, as Amended, to Certain Positions in the War Department and in the Navy Department and Establishing a Salary Differential Therefor." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ A salary differential is hereby established for the aforesaid positions as follows: To the rates of pay applicable to such positions as specified in the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, there shall be added twenty-five per centum of the minimum rate of the grade to which each such position is allocated.

▪ The differential herein authorized shall not apply after June 30, 1943.

▪ 8657 of February 3, 1941, entitled "Extending the Classification Act of 1923, as Amended, to Certain Positions in the Navy Department and Establishing a Salary Differential Therefor".

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

325

2,030 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

21.3

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 8955, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dec 1, 1941). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8955-extending-the-classification-act-1923-amended-certain-positions-the.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

Whereas upon consideration of reports and recommendations of the Civil Service Commission, I find and declare (1) that an extension of the provisions of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, to the hereinafter-described positions in the War and Navy Departments, outside the States of the United States and the District of Columbia, is necessary to the more efficient operation of the Government, and (2) that the rates of the compensation schedules of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, are inadequate to permit effective and immediate recruiting of qualified citizens for such positions, which is necessary in the interests of the national-defense program: Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by sections 3 (a) and 3 (c), Title II of the act of November 26, 1940, 54 Stat. 1212, it is ordered as follows: 1. The provisions of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, are hereby extended to positions in the War Department and in the Navy Department for which citizens of the United States are recruited, which are made necessary by national-defense projects, which fall into classes of employment to which the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, is applicable, and which are located in the following-named geographic areas: Alaska Jamaica British Guiana Bermuda Trinidad The Bahamas Antigua Newfoundland St. Lucia 2. A salary differential is hereby established for the aforesaid positions as follows: To the rates of pay applicable to such positions as specified in the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, there shall be added twenty-five per centum of the minimum rate of the grade to which each such position is allocated. The differential herein authorized shall not apply after June 30, 1943. 3. This order supersedes Executive Order No. 8657 of February 3, 1941, entitled "Extending the Classification Act of 1923, as Amended, to Certain Positions in the Navy Department and Establishing a Salary Differential Therefor". FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, December 1, 1941.