Federal Unions Escalate Challenge Over OPM Hiring Essays
Federal unions are asking an appeals court to intervene in their fight over the Trump administration’s federal job application essay questions. The plaintiffs argue that the questions could influence hiring decisions and are effectively a “loyalty test.”
The lawsuit was filed in November, after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) added four essay questions to federal job applications under the Merit Hiring Plan. The questions included one asking candidates their favorite policy or executive order of President Trump.
While OPM insists the essays are optional, the unions argue their presence chills free speech and may be influencing hiring decisions.
The unions are now asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to compel U.S. District Judge George O’Toole of Massachusetts to rule “promptly” on their request for a preliminary injunction while their lawsuit is pending.
The unions –including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) – wrote in their filing that time is of the essence, saying that every day the essay questions become more ingrained and amount to what’s effectively a “loyalty test.”
“On April 27, 2026, the unions informed the court that they had learned, contrary to the government’s representations, that applicants could not skip answering the loyalty question on USAJobs postings. In the same notice, the unions apprised the court that the loyalty question had appeared on over 33,000 job postings,” wrote the unions in their filing.
As of June, about 48,000 postings on USAJobs contain the essay questions.
According to data from the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, the essay questions appeared more frequently for jobs the Trump administration has prioritized filling. That includes roughly 60 percent of attorney positions, 50 percent of IT jobs, and 45 percent of general engineering positions.
The plaintiffs say the essay questions have appeared on nearly 75 percent of job postings from the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice during this period, and nearly all job postings from the Department of Labor.
OPM Says Essay Answers Not Required
In April, an OPM official told Federal News Network that answering the essay questions is not required according to the default system on USA Staffing.
“The default, in other words, is to not require all questions. To change that, agencies have to then change it manually to make the questions required,” the OPM official said. “If agencies are choosing to require the questions, contrary to OPM guidance, that’s not our decision.”
And in follow-up guidance to the Merit Hiring Plan, OPM stated the questions are not an “ideological litmus test” and if candidates do not answer the essays “they will not be disqualified or screened out.”
