Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The Justice Department announced Monday its Civil Rights Division would end a decades-old consent decree, which banned the federal government from using civil service exams to hire qualified candidates.
Luevano v. Director, Office of Personnel Management, a 1979 lawsuit filed during the Carter administration, accused the federal government's Professional and Administrative Career Examination -- or PACE -- of discriminating against Black and Hispanic applicants.
A consent decree was entered in 1981, making civil service exams obsolete for the next 44 years. In March, the Trump administration filed a motion to terminate it.
"For over four decades, this decree has hampered the federal government from hiring the top talent of our nation," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Today, the Justice Department removed that barrier and reopened federal employment opportunities based on merit -- not race."
Related
