DOGE’s Data Access Attacked by Workers Adding to Legal Blitz (2)

Dozens of federal employees on Tuesday challenged the Trump administration’s decision to allow Elon Musk’s team access to their personal information.

A coalition of anonymous federal employees and contractors, joined by the American Federation of Government Employees and AFL-CIO, sued to block the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Office of Personnel Management’s records. OPM, the federal government’s HR division, holds detailed records on 2.2 million civilian employees. DOGE is Musk’s cost-cutting initiative.

A separate group of federal employees on Tuesday afternoon filed a proposed class action challenging DOGE’s access to their personal data. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks injunctive relief for the alleged breach of worker data as well as damages.

The lawsuits are among the latest legal actions challenging DOGE’s access to federal agency records, including sensitive data held by the Labor and Treasury departments. Labor unions filed a similar data privacy suit, as did the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public-interest group, in recent days.

The Justice Department and AFGE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The complaints cited reports that OPM gave Musk’s staff access to Social Security numbers and personnel files for millions of federal employees. The plaintiffs accused OPM of violating the Privacy Act of 1974, the law that prescribes how federal agencies collect, use, and disclose individuals’ personal information.

“The government should take responsibility and ensure that these workers are properly compensated for the harm they have suffered, and will continue to suffer,” said Sara Faulman, who represents the plaintiffs in the proposed class action.

OPM is a potential target for hackers. The office revealed in 2015 that hackers breached its computers and stole personal data for about 22.1 million people.

The cases are Nemeth-Greenleaf v. OPM, D.D.C., 1:25-cv-00407, complaint filed 2/11/25 and Am. Fed. of Gov’t Emp. v. OPM, S.D.N.Y., 1:25-cv-01237, complaint filed 2/11/25.