A federal lawsuit targeting the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can proceed following a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Denise L. Cote partially denied the government's motion to dismiss the case, which challenges the disclosure of personal data by OPM to DOGE, purportedly a violation of the federal Privacy Act of 1974.
“The defendants’ Kafkaesque argument to the contrary would deprive the plaintiffs of any recourse under the law,” stated Judge Cote. She further noted that the employees' claims for injunctive relief could proceed under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
The lawsuit, filed in February on behalf of two labor unions and individual government workers, aims to halt the sharing of private data and seek the return of any information already disclosed. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), alongside Lex Lumina LLP, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and The Chandra Law Firm, supports this legal effort, highlighting OPM's history of privacy lapses, including a major breach in 2015.
The lawsuit includes the American Federation of Government Employees AFL-CIO and the Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Judicial Council 1 AFL-CIO as plaintiffs. Everett Kelley, AFGE National President, emphasized the importance of protecting data privacy from unauthorized access, especially by figures outside the government.
Holding data for millions, OPM's databases include detailed personal and work-related information. This lawsuit argues that such disclosures contravene the Privacy Act, designed to limit unauthorized data sharing by federal entities.
The judge clarified that while some claims proceed under the APA, direct claims under the Privacy Act did not advance, underscoring complexities in applying these statutes.
For further order information and access to complaint documents, resources are available through the Electronic Frontier Foundation's website.