Government employees on Wednesday asked a federal judge to stop the Trump administration from encouraging job applicants to demonstrate their loyalty to the president’s agenda.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, a group of federal unions contends that the White House “merit hiring plan“violates the First Amendment rights of the applicants. The plan, submitted by the Office of Personnel Management, includes the following short essay question:

“How would you help promote the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are important to you and explain how you would help implement them if you were hired.”

The administration floated the question in May as part of its hiring plan. But after an outcry, the White House said answering the questions was optional and asserted that applicants would not hurt their prospects by skipping them.

Democracy Forward, a legal group helping unions in the lawsuit, says the “loyalty question” is currently part of more than 6,000 federal job offers.

Unions claim the question creates an “unconstitutional” and discriminatory system in which job seekers are rewarded or punished for their political opinions. The administration’s hiring plan is part of a broader effort by Trump to politicize the traditionally nonpartisan civil service, raising concerns that it could return it to an old-style spoils system.

“This question is a clear violation of my right to free speech and goes against everything America stands for.”

– From the statement of a VA employee

On Wednesday, the unions asked a judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would prevent the administration from raising the loyalty issue with the petitioners while the case moves forward.

As part of the litigation, several federal employees anonymously submitted statements attesting to how they believe the question violates their rights. They asked that their names not be revealed for fear that federal agencies could retaliate against them.

A Colorado-based Department of Education employee said the application question has prevented them from applying for a new federal job, even though they know Donald Trump’s administration continues to dismantle their agency.

“Honesty is important to me and I cannot, in good conscience, pretend to agree with President Trump’s policies,” the worker said. attested. “Even if the question is supposed to be optional, I think it would be used against me if I don’t answer. After all, the question is there for a reason.”

President Donald Trump's administration issued a
President Donald Trump’s administration issued a “merit hiring plan” earlier this year that asks job applicants to pledge loyalty to the president.

via News

A Department of Veterans Affairs employee who works in information technology said he had been applying for other federal jobs that appear to be better protected from layoffs. They were recently “baffled” when faced with the question of loyalty.

“This question is a clear violation of my right to free speech and goes against everything America stands for,” the employee said. saying. “As a public official, I do not have to profess loyalty to a particular president. Instead, I profess loyalty to the Constitution.”

Another VA worker who has been applying for jobs at other agencies said they answered the loyalty question only because they assumed their application would be rejected if they didn’t. Answering honestly took some research, apparently.

“To respond, I had to review President Trump’s executive orders, the vast majority of which I disagreed with, to find one that I could discuss at least somewhat positively,” the worker said. counted. “I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for the question about job applications.”