Unions sue over ‘loyalty question’ for federal jobseekers

This story has been updated at 1:30 p.m. ET.

A trio of federal employee unions on Thursday sued the Office of Personnel Management seeking to excise essay questions recently added to most federal job applications that institute a “thinly veiled” political loyalty test and effectively upend the nonpartisan civil service.

Last May, OPM published a new “merit hiring plan,” which, among other things, mandated the inclusion of four open-ended essay questions for every job announcement at GS-5 level or above. One of those questions quizzes the applicant on their favorite Trump administration policy and how they would support its implementation.

“How would you help advance the president’s executive orders and policy priorities in this role?” the question states. “Identify one or two relevant executive orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”

While initially deemed mandatory, OPM appeared to backtrack after pushback from employee groups, making responses voluntary and stating that answers would not be “scored or rated.” But the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Association of Government Employees argued in their complaint that subsequent training and memos make clear that the essay responses will still be used to make hiring decisions. The unions allege that the essay question violates the First Amendment, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act in a litany of different ways.

“The [Merit Hiring Plan], including the MHP guidance interpreting it, violates the First Amendment in several ways,” the unions wrote. “First, it imposes an unconstitutional condition on employment, creating a hiring system where applicants are identifiable by and selected on the basis of professed political beliefs and loyalties. In so doing, the MHP essentially establishes a system of unconstitutional political patronage.”

The unions argued that the essay question effectively compels job applicants to disclose their political beliefs and “coerces” allegiance to President Trump. And it “chills” the speech of others, who they said may self-censor their beliefs or choose not to apply for a federal job at all.

The lawsuit also takes issue with how OPM adjusted the hiring plan in response to pushback over the executive order question. While not mandatory or “scored,” a more recent executive order—and subsequent OPM guidance—place both the decision to create job openings and final hiring decisions in the hands of political leaders, rather than career hiring managers.

“The directive is clear: the loyalty question must appear on civil service job applications, the highest levels of political leadership will review applicants’ responses, and the highest levels of political leadership will independently review all hiring decisions,” the unions wrote.

And a training video on implementation of the merit hiring plan continues to place great import upon the collection of jobseekers’ essays.

“This is a very specific priority for this administration to have this information, prior to making a final offer to a candidate,” said Roseanna Ciarlante, director of OPM’s hiring experience group. “[Answers to the loyalty question are] additional information that we want the hiring manager to consider as part of the selection process, and for the agency leader or designee [to consider] when they’re signing off.”

So far, the essay questions have been included on at least 5,800 federal job postings, including more than 1,000 job announcements since the start of the ongoing government shutdown. They have been included on jobs as varied as patent examiners, crane operators, and wildland firefighters.

OPM Director Scott Kupor denied the unions' allegations in a statement Friday and said instead that the hiring plan—and its essay questions—"strengthens" the career civil service rather than politicizes it.

"The Merit Hiring Plan strengthens the career civil service by ensuring agencies evaluate applicants based on skills, experience, and commitment to public service," he said. "As part of the plan, we have recommended agencies use four optional, free-response essay questions that give candidates an opportunity to provide additional information about themselves, their background, and dedication to public service. We have been very clear that hiring decisions cannot consider political or ideological beliefs, including in guidance that we issued on June 23 regarding the four essay questions. The plan prohibits any ideological litmus tests and reinforces the nonpartisan character of the federal workforce.”

In a statement, AFGE National President Everett Kelley tied the initiative to statements made by Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought last year about their desire to fire federal bureaucrats and “bring the deep state to heel.”

“Forcing job applicants to answer politically motivated questions comes straight from the Project 2025 playbook, which aims to replace dedicated, nonpartisan public servants with workers chosen for their political loyalty rather than their qualifications or their oath to uphold the Constitution,” he said. “This isn’t just illegal, it also harms our members and all Americans by depriving them of opportunities to serve their country and by undermining a skilled, nonpartisan workforce.”