District Judge: Privacy Act Case Against DOGE Will Continue

The plaintiffs plead that their "highly sensitive and confidential data has already been disclosed to individuals without proper vetting or training, and that that access has made the OPM data more vulnerable to hacking, identify theft, and other activities that are substantially harmful to the plaintiffs,” the judge said. Additionally, “the complaint adequately alleges that OPM engaged in a final agency action when it abruptly changed its longstanding practices by giving access to sensitive and legally protected records in violation of those practices, federal statutes, and even the terms of the DOGE Executive Order.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit on behalf of current and former federal employees, called the judge's decision a victory.

It "sends a crystal-clear message: Americans’ private data stored with the government isn't the personal playground of unelected billionaires,” said Everett Kelley, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) national president, in a statement following the ruling. “Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies have no business rifling through sensitive data stored at OPM, period. AFGE and our allies fought back -- and won -- because we will not compromise when it comes to protecting the privacy and security of our members and the American people they proudly serve.”

Case 25-01237, in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York, began in early February when the plaintiffs filed a complaint against OPM and DOGE, alleging they failed to protect the security of records loaded with sensitive personal information. The government departments asked the court to dismiss the suit on March 17 (see 2503170044), and doubled down days later with a memorandum (see 2504010017).