Executive Order 9617—Transfer of Certain Agencies and Functions to the Department of Labor

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, including Title I of the First War Powers Act, 1941, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. (a) Except as otherwise provided herein, all functions, agencies, officers, employees, records, property, and funds of the War Manpower Commission, established by Executive Order 9139 of April 18, 1942, are hereby transferred to the Department of Labor and shall be administered under the supervision, direction, and control of the Secretary of Labor.

(b) All of the functions of the Chairman of the War Manpower Commission, exclusive of so much thereof as relates to the functions of the Procurement and Assignment Service transferred by paragraph 5 of this order, are transferred to the Secretary of Labor.

(c) The War Manpower Commission is hereby terminated.

(d) In order to maintain the essential coordination of public employment service and unemployment compensation functions and to avoid any necessity for establishing duplicate public employment office facilities, the Department of Labor is directed to provide for making available to agencies charged with the administration of unemployment compensation laws such services, information, and facilities by the United States Employment Service as the Secretary of Labor shall find not inconsistent with the purposes of this order. To the extent that Federal funds under the jurisdiction of the Social Security Board are involved in the effectuation of this section, services, information, and facilities shall be furnished only when, and to the extent that the Social Security Board shall approve.

2. (a) The National War Labor Board, established by Executive Order 9017 of January 12, 1942, and all of its functions, officers, employees, records, property, and funds are hereby transferred to the Department of Labor and shall, except as otherwise provided in this order, be administered under the supervision, direction, and control of the Secretary of Labor.

(b) The National War Labor Board in the Department of Labor shall be in all respects subject to and governed by such policies, consistent with law, as the Secretary of Labor shall prescribe; and so much of the functions of the Board as is required to effectuate this subsection is transferred to the Secretary of Labor. The provisions of this section notwithstanding, decisions made by the National War Labor Board in individual cases brought before it pursuant to law shall not be subject to modification by the Secretary of Labor but shall have the same degree of finality as existed prior to the issuance of this order.

3. (a) The Retraining and Reemployment Administration, established by section 301 of the War Mobilization and Reconversion Act of 1944, and all of its functions, officers, employees, records, property, and funds are hereby transferred to the Department of Labor and shall be administered under the supervision, direction, and control of the Secretary of Labor.

(b) The functions of the Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion relating to the Retraining and Reemployment Administration are hereby transferred to the Secretary of Labor.

4. (a) The Secretary of Labor may perform the functions transferred to him by this order through such officials, persons, or agencies and in such manner as he shall determine.

(b) The United States Employment Service and all functions in the Department of Labor relating to employment service, the National War Labor Board and its functions, and the Retraining and Reemployment Administration and its functions shall be administered as organizational entities within the Department of Labor. All other functions transferred to the Department of Labor by this order shall be administered, and the internal staff and service activities relating to the aforesaid agencies may be administered, by such agencies in the Department of Labor as the Secretary may designate or establish for the purpose.

5. The functions of the Procurement and Assignment Service of the War Manpower Commission and the functions of the Chairman of the War Manpower Commission with respect thereto are hereby transferred to the Federal Security Administrator. There shall be transferred to the Federal Security Agency, for use in connection with such functions, all of the personnel of the Procurement and Assignment Service, and so much of the other personnel of the War Manpower Commission and so much of the records, property, and funds of the War Manpower Commission as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine to relate primarily to the Procurement and Assignment Service.

6. All prior regulations, rulings, and other directives relating to any agency or function transferred by this order shall remain in effect except insofar as they are in conflict with this order or are hereafter amended under proper authority.

7. Such further measures and dispositions as may be determined by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to be necessary to effectuate the transfer or redistribution of the functions provided for in this order shall be carried out in such manner as the Director may direct and by such agencies as he may designate.

8. All provisions of prior Executive orders which are in conflict with this order are amended accordingly; provided that no functions or duties of any agency or officer not expressly transferred hereunder shall be deemed to have been transferred or modified by this order.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE,

September 19, 1945