Monday morning musings for workplace watchers.
Open DOGE’s Books| EEOC Offices to Shutter
Rebecca Rainey: We’re about to learn how deeply into the US Department of Labor Elon Musk’s DOGE has gone, including what data they’ve been given access to.
The Trump administration must hand over details of the scope of the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to sensitive data at three agencies, including the DOL, before the end of the month.
Last week, a DC-based federal judge denied the government’s attempt to quash discovery in a lawsuit brought by unions and a worker advocacy group, while also raising concerns about the Trump administration’s reasoning that discovery was no longer necessary.
Refresher: The AFL-CIO along with other unions sued the Trump administration on Feb. 5, alleging that DOGE’s attempt to access the DOL’s computer systems was illegal. The suit was later amended to include the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The union groups, represented by Democracy Forward, argued that the Privacy Act prohibited the sharing of agency data with other agencies absent consent from the individuals whose records would be shared.
The Trump administration has countered that DOGE staffers aren’t violating the Privacy Act because they are working at the agency as “detailees” under a law that permits interagency detail arrangements, the Economy Act of 1932.
But the government recently changed its tune.
On March 11, attorneys for the Trump administration requested that US District Judge John Bates reconsider his decision to allow discovery in the case. The government provided new declarations from the DOL, HHS, and the CFPB clarifying that DOGE staffers there have now been directly hired by the agencies. That change “obviates” the Economy Act question and the need for expedited discovery, the Trump administration argued.
Bates was not convinced, writing in a March 19 order “whether USDS could lawfully detail employees to the agency defendants when USDS was doing so still matters.” USDS in this case means DOGE, which replaced the US Digital Service when it was created.
The judge also raised questions about the structure of DOGE and who its staffers report to, noting that multiple workers are employed both by DOGE and another agency.
“What defendants do not explain is how this dual employment operates— most acutely, they do not explain who these three employees ultimately report and answer to,” Bates wrote.
With the discovery order still in place, the government must provide details on each DOGE employee who has accessed or been given permission to access sensitive data systems at the three agencies named in the suit, as well as what systems have been accessed, and any software installed by these staffers. The deadline to provide the information has been extended to March 31, according to Democracy Forward.
In response to the decision, Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said the group would “continue to shine a light on DOGE’s activities and hold them responsible for their actions.”
President
In an executive order issued March 20, Trump directed all agency heads to modify agency guidance that hinders the sharing of data amongst other agencies.
The order also specifically name checked the Labor Department, directing Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to immediately receive “unfettered access to all unemployment data and related payment records, including all such data and records currently available to the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.”
Rebecca Klar: Eight EEOC offices around the country are slated to have their leases terminated as part of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting plans, according to the DOGE website.
The lease terminations, especially if they result in shutting down any offices entirely, could cut into the public’s face-to-face access to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigators .
“They’re the lifeblood of the agency,” said Elizabeth Fox-Solomon, former chief of staff to ex-EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, one of the Democrats on the commission fired by President Donald Trump.
Fox-Solomon previously worked as a trial attorney in the EEOC’s Buffalo, N.Y., office.
The EEOC offices are among the 657 nationwide pieces of commercial real estate listed under DOGE’s lease terminations as of Friday.
DOGE lists one district office in Phoenix, Ariz., and seven local or area offices in San Jose, Calif.; Mobile, Ala; El Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Kan.; Greensboro, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C; and Greenville, S.C.
There are 15 EEOC district offices, dividing the US. The Phoenix district already encompasses Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The field offices across the country are the “first line of contact” for employees that are alleging discrimination and employers seeking assistance with legal compliance, according to the agency’s website. They are tasked with receiving inquiries and investigating bias charges, resolving claims through mediation or conciliation, and employer outreach.
They offer a physical point of contact to interact with the agency. That ability to meet in person can be especially important for people who are less comfortable with technology to set up a video call, or less trustful of government agencies, Fox-Solomon said.
“We keep hearing about faceless bureaucrats in D.C.,” she added. “Field offices are where you meet people where they live.
It’s not clear if the DOGE plan would shutter offices or find new leases to replace them, possibly at a lower cost. Shutting any of the slated field offices would place hundreds of miles between the next nearest one in some cases. There’s 350 miles, about a five hour drive, between the Kansas City office and the seemingly closest neighboring office in Oklahoma City.
A spokesperson for the EEOC did not respond to a request for comment.
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