by WorldTribune Staff, August 7, 2025 Real World News
The Department of Justice on Friday terminated a Carter Administration rule that hamstrung federal agencies from conducting merit-based hiring.
The DOJ's Civil Rights Division ended a Carter era decree that required federal agencies to get permission before implementing testing of job applicants to determine who was the best person for the position.
“For over four decades, this decree has hampered the federal government from hiring the top talent of our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “Today, the Justice Department removed that barrier and reopened federal employment opportunities based on merit — not race.”
A DOJ press release noted that, in Luevano v. Ezell, the Court dismissed a consent decree based on a lawsuit initially brought by interest groups representing federal employees in 1979.
"The decree entered in 1981 imposed draconian test review and implementation procedures on the Office of Personnel Management — and consequently all other federal agencies — requiring them to receive permission prior to using any tests for potential federal employees, in an attempt to require equal testing outcomes among all races of test-takers," the DOJ said.
President Donald Trump challenged the decree when he took office in January, which forced the reopening of the case.
The Trump Administration argued that, in light of the Supreme Court's decision against affirmative action, it was likely that the decree was no longer considered to be constitutionally valid. Luevano, who is still living though the original judge is not, agreed to terminate the decree.
"It’s simple, competence and merit are the standards by which we should all be judged; nothing more and nothing less,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “It’s about time people are judged, not by their identity, but instead by the content of their character."
