WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has officially dissolved the Luevano Consent Decree, a landmark 1981 agreement that had significantly influenced federal hiring practices for over four decades. The dissolution, announced around August 1, 2025, paves the way for the federal government to reinstate civil service examinations, aiming to restore merit-based hiring across its agencies.
The original Luevano v. Campbell lawsuit, filed in 1979, challenged the Professional and Administrative Careers Examination (PACE), a standardized test used by the Civil Service Commission, alleging it had an adverse impact on Black and Hispanic applicants. The 1981 consent decree settled the case, leading to the elimination of PACE and establishing alternative hiring programs, effectively limiting the use of broad-based civil service exams.
The move to terminate the decree was initiated by the Trump administration in March 2025, with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division arguing that the decree was unworkable, conflicted with current law, and hampered the federal government's ability to recruit top talent. America First Legal (AFL) also played a role, moving to intervene in the case to support the dissolution.
Critics of the consent decree, including those who celebrated its termination, asserted that it had inadvertently created a system that prioritized diversity metrics over merit. As stated in a recent social media post by Crémieux, "The Luevano Consent Decree is OFFICIALLY DISSOLVED. That means that the the civil service exam can be used again. Meritocracy is allowed to return to the civil service, and the incompetent bureaucrats who got in because the test was banned can soon be a thing of the past."
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division emphasized that the decree had limited federal hiring practices based on "flawed and outdated theories of diversity, equity, and inclusion." Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon remarked, "For over four decades, this decree has hampered the federal government from hiring the top talent of our nation." The dissolution marks a significant shift in federal employment policy, aiming to prioritize qualifications and competence through standardized testing.