OPM Revises Essay Questions for Federal Job Applicants Following Court Ruling

Agencies are updating essay questions for federal job seekers following a court ruling, replacing a question about a candidate’s favorite executive order of President Trump with a question focused on implementing leadership decisions.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agencies to include the revised question number three in all upcoming federal job announcements.

The new question asks, “In this role, you will be expected to professionally and efficiently implement executive direction. Provide an example where you implemented leadership direction on a strategy or policy decision that differed from your own recommendation.”

The OPM memo also introduces a fifth essay question, directing agencies to select between one and three agency-wide priorities and ask applicants how they would help advance those initiatives.

The memo noted that agencies should use "important priorities drawn from the agency’s strategic plan, annual performance plan, or other current agency priorities” to form the question.

Question Changes Come After Stay

The revised essays come after U.S. District Judge George O’Toole of the District of Massachusetts issued a stay blocking OPM from using the so-called “loyalty question” on federal job applications.

The question– which was part of the administration’s Merit Hiring Plan– was challenged by federal employee unions who said it could pressure applicants to express support for President Trump’s policies and effectively amounted to a loyalty test. 

In his ruling, Judge O’Toole focused on testimony from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee applying for other federal positions who said she felt compelled to provide an answer contrary to her personal views for fear that answering honestly would “hurt her application.”  

“The plain language of Question Three calls for the applicant’s personal views on a political topic, and directly links that personal view to the duties of the desired civil service job,” wrote Judge O’Toole in the ruling.