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A new federal complaint was filed on Tuesday by more than 100 federal workers who are either currently employed by the government or have worked for it in the past. The workers claim that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, the agency he heads, accessed sensitive personnel records without the necessary authorization or screening.
On behalf of 103 employees and different government worker unions, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other privacy organizations brought the case to the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs have requested that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the primary government body responsible for human resources, block DOGE and its representatives.
Allegations of Unauthorized Access
According to the lawsuit, “OPM Defendants gave DOGE Defendants and DOGE’s agents — many of whom are under the age of 25 and are or were until recently employees of Musk’s private companies — ‘administrative’ access to OPM computer systems, without undergoing any normal, rigorous national-security vetting.”
In addition to the current head of the OPM, Charles Ezell, Elon Musk, and DOGE are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The complaint states that the act forbids unauthorized access to personal data, including data held by federal agencies, and that the process by which DOGE obtained documents from OPM violated this act.
“The Privacy Act makes it unlawful for OPM Defendants to hand over access to OPM’s millions of personnel records to DOGE Defendants, who lack a lawful and legitimate need for such access,” the lawsuit declares. “No exception to the Privacy Act covers DOGE Defendants’ access to records held by OPM.”
According to the complaint, the agents of DOGE were not working for the government when they were granted access to the computer networks of the OPM. It blames a cybersecurity company for firing 19-year-old Edward Coristine, who allegedly used the online alias “Big Balls” when he was employed there, following an internal investigation into data leaks.
The lawsuit further states that DOGE’s access to government worker data could lead to detrimental professional outcomes for them. It is worth mentioning that both Musk and President Trump have made threats to terminate employees who are perceived as being disloyal. The employees could be vulnerable to hackers from outside the country if their financial information is made public, according to the complaint.
Potential Risks for Government Employees
In light of DOGE’s recent announcements of widespread federal layoffs and other reforms, the agency’s access to sensitive government data has become an increasingly contentious issue, leading to the current case.
The primary goal of the complaint is to obtain a court order blocking that access; however, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Mark Lemley, told WIRED that this is only “phase one” of a potential class action lawsuit.
There was an instant delay in a response from DOGE, OPM, and Musk’s business representatives.
