Federal government can conduct merit-based hiring after Carter-era judicial decree abolished

On Friday, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice put an end to a Carter administration decree that required federal agencies to get permission before implementing testing of job applicants to determine who was the best person for the position.

The consent decree stemmed from the Luevano v. Ezell case, brought by Angel Luevano in 1979, in which he alleged that the Professional Administrative Career Examination, which was used to filter federal job applicants, was racist. As a result of the case, the testing was paused for five years—it's been on pause ever since.

"It’s simple, competence and merit are the standards by which we should all be judged; nothing more and nothing less,” said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “It’s about time people are judged, not by their identity, but instead by the content of their character."

"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."

President Donald Trump challenged the decree when he took office again 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.

This will allow big changes in how the federal workforce is hired. Testing will be able to be implemented to determine the best candidates for each job, and the government will no longer be hindered in administering that testing.

After the application of the Professional Administrative Career Examination came to an end, self-assessments took their place, where applicants would attest to their own ability. This encouraged lying. It is also difficult to fire federal government workers, as the lawsuits from the past several months can attest.

President Jimmy Carter grew up in a racially segregated South and made it a mission of his presidency to bring discrimination to an end. Much work has been done on that front in the 44 years since the decree was enacted.