Merit Hiring Plan

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an executive branch-wide Merit Hiring Plan. The plan included a new requirement that vacancy announcements for positions at the GS-5 level and higher include several essay questions, including, for example: "How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? 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.," and “How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government?”

OPM's plan prohibited any sort of affirmative action or targeted recruitment to increase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The plan directed agencies to stop compiling data on the composition of their workforces. The plan prioritized recruiting candidates from, among other places, religious schools and faith-based groups. It shifted the government further toward the use of standardized position descriptions, despite concerns about their accuracy. Protect Democracy has written about the potential effect of the essay questions, including the risk that they will be used as a political litmus test in hiring.