A group of more than 100 current and former federal workers has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), accusing them of accessing highly sensitive personnel records without proper authorization. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, claims that DOGE’s actions violated the Privacy Act, which protects federal employees' personal data.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with other privacy groups, represents 103 federal workers and various government unions in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs demand that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) immediately revoke DOGE’s access to its systems, arguing that the agency failed to follow standard national security vetting procedures before granting administrative privileges.
According to the complaint, OPM improperly granted DOGE and its agents—many of whom are young former employees of Musk’s private companies—administrative access to personnel databases. The lawsuit specifically names OPM, its current director Charles Ezell, Musk, and DOGE as defendants.
“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,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs argue that this access violates the Privacy Act, which prohibits unauthorized sharing of personal records across federal agencies. The lawsuit insists that no legal exception justifies DOGE’s access to these records.
The complaint raises concerns that DOGE’s access to federal employee data could lead to serious consequences, including security risks and potential retaliation against workers deemed disloyal. The lawsuit highlights past statements from Musk and former President Donald Trump suggesting that government employees viewed as disloyal should be fired.
One DOGE worker, Edward Coristine, 19, is named in the lawsuit and is brought to court for his involvement in a previous data leak at a cybersecurity firm. Coristine, known online by the alias “Big Balls,” was fired from the firm after an internal investigation.
Beyond professional risks, the lawsuit warns financial exposure of workers may put them at risk of being attacked by criminals and foreign agents.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue an injunction to stop DOGE from accessing OPM’s systems right now. The lawyer Mark Lemley says the lawsuit is the first phase of legal action and a class action suit is sure to follow.
“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 complaint states.
Concerns over DOGE’s access to sensitive data have continued to grow as DOGE launches widespread layoffs and government restructuring. DOGE, OPM, and Musk’s company representatives have not answered requests for comment regarding this regarding this.