by Dennis Crouch
After a six-month hiring freeze and DOGE strong push for voluntary retirements, the USPTO has announced that it is again hiring patent examiners. There are some key changes: (1) the new examiners will work in the Alexandria HQ – these are explicitly designated as non-remote, non-telework eligible positions; (2) according to the announcement, these jobs fall outside the bargaining unit covered by the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA). Although these limitations narrow the potential candidate pool, the USPTO is one of the first agencies beginning to hire STEM candidates in the DC area and so will hopefully be able to attract competitive candidates.
The USPTO obtained an exemption from the federal hiring freeze specifically to post these positions, citing the agency’s priority of addressing its patent application backlog of over 820,000 pending applications—the highest backlog in a decade according to USPTO statistics. The agency did not indicate how many examiners will be hired, but it will likely be in the hundreds if they can find qualified “gold” level candidates. I expect more information will flow once John Squires is confirmed as USPTO director (likely within the next 2 weeks).
This non-union hiring strategy is designed to circumvent existing collective bargaining protections that have allowed current USPTO examiners to maintain telework arrangements despite the Trump administration’s broader return-to-office mandates. POPA’s current contract with the USPTO, finalized in December 2024 under the Biden administration, secures telework rights for covered employees through June 2029. POPA currently covers all non-management patent examiners (i.e., anyone below SPE level).
The job postings include a bonus for new electrical engineering patent examiners, with $10,000 paid upon entry and an additional $20,000 available after achieving a two-grade promotion within 48 months.
As Bloomberg Law’s Aruni Soni recently reported that employee morale at the USPTO has declined over the past 6 months due to policy changes under the current administration. The creation of a bifurcated workforce with different employment terms may exacerbate these concerns, particularly if productivity or retention differs significantly between unionized and non-unionized examiners.
Are they allowed to designate the new examiner positions as nonunion positions?
If they are, why don’t all companies designate all new positions “nonunion”? Shouldn’t the new examiners’ have a right to organize regardless of the designation of the position as “nonunion”?