Unions Narrowing Their Challenge to DOGE Agency Data Access

A coalition of unions challenging the Department of Government Efficiency’s attempts to access sensitive data systems at a trio of federal agencies dropped their claims against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and other unions dismissed part of their legal challenge Wednesday pertaining to DOGE’s efforts to tap into computer systems at the CFPB .

The union groups’ claims involving DOGE’s access to data at the Labor Department and the Department of Health and Human Services remain.

The lawsuit, filed in February in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, argued that allowing DOGE staff to access sensitive data systems at the agencies was illegal and in violation of the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The group was unable to convince Judge John D. Bates to provide emergency relief to immediately halt DOGE staffers’ access to the data, after he determined that there was no evidence the data would be misused or publicly disclosed.

The AFL-CIO-led coalition filed a motion for summary judgment Aug. 27, seeking “destruction of any ill-gotten data and an injunction preventing further unlawful access, which would, as nearly as possible, recreate the status quo before the unlawful conduct occurred.”

Democracy Forward, which represents the unions and advocacy groups suing over DOGE’s access, declined to comment on the dismissal.

The case is AFLCIO v. DOL, D.D.C., No. 25-00339, dismissal of claims filed on 8/27/25.