Federal Judge Grants TRO Against DOGE Access to OPM and Education Department Data
The U.S. District Court for Maryland partially granted a motion Monday for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to sensitive personal information at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Education Department. The plaintiffs clearly showed that they would suffer irreparable harm without injunctive relief, the court said.
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“The plaintiffs have a privacy interest in restricting access to their personal information to government employees properly authorized to access it,” said Judge Deborah Boardman. “Education and OPM possess a significant amount of detailed information about the plaintiffs’ lives. To say that the plaintiffs suffer no cognizable injury when their personal information is improperly disclosed to government employees would nullify their interest in preventing unlawful government intrusion into their private affairs.”
The plaintiffs, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and International Federation of Professional and technical Engineers, filed suit on Feb. 10 for violations of the Privacy Act, among other federal laws. Though they also sued the Treasury, the court denied a TRO in that instance, saying the plaintiffs did not establish they would be irreparably harmed if a TRO was not granted.
In the flurry of litigation against DOGE’s access to sensitive information and federal department systems, courts have been inconsistent in granting preliminary injunctions and TROs. On Feb. 21, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia denied a TRO from the Electronic Privacy Information Center against OPM and the Treasury (see 2502240054). The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion for TRO from a California Student Association against the Education Department (see 2502180039). But the U.S. District Court for Southern New York barred Treasury employees who aren’t Senate-confirmed from accessing department systems containing sensitive information on Feb. 21 (see 2502240008).