DOGE, OPM, Musk Seek Dismissal in Case Over Privacy Act Violations
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) asked a New York court to dismiss a complaint against them in a case alleging DOGE accessed sensitive personal data in violation of the 1974 Privacy Act. They allege the plaintiffs -- current and former federal employees -- lack subject matter jurisdiction and standing because they have not suffered a cognizable injury, nor have they sufficiently alleged causation or redressability.
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Moreover, the employees' allegations that OPM granted "non-governmental DOGE actors access to OPM’s most sensitive data systems ... are implausible, and contradicted by the very news reports which form the basis for the Complaint," OPM, its director Charles Ezell, Musk and DOGE said in their motion to dismiss. The complaint, they added, "seek[s] to improperly limit OPM’s ability to manage its own internal affairs and to implement the Office of the President’s policy priorities.”
Case 25-01237 began Feb. 11 when plaintiffs filed a complaint against OPM and DOGE in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York. On Feb. 14, the American Federation of Government Employees filed a motion for a TRO to stop “these ongoing and systematic privacy violations,” which the defendants opposed on Feb. 19 (see 2502200047).