Politics · United States · 2 hrs ago
Judge says OPM unlawfully shared federal workers’ data with DOGE
A federal judge ruled that OPM broke privacy law by sharing sensitive government data with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The data included personal information about tens of millions of federal workers, applicants and retirees.
Judge Denise Cote said OPM did not give a credible reason why DOGE needed access and also failed to follow its own cybersecurity practices.
DOGE was assembled under President Donald Trump to seek savings and improve government efficiency, but the administration did not link access to personal records to the group’s duties.
Unions challenged DOGE’s access in a lawsuit, raising concerns about privacy and the security of sensitive information.
The judge has not yet decided on a remedy, and rejected the government’s argument that the case no longer matters because DOGE is no longer a centralized entity.
A federal judge ruled that the Office of Personnel Management unlawfully shared sensitive data about federal workers with the Department of Government Efficiency.
Judge Denise Cote said OPM violated the Privacy Act of 1974 and its own cybersecurity practices.
She said the government did not credibly explain why DOGE needed personally identifiable information about tens of millions of employees, applicants and retirees.
Cote rejected the argument that the lawsuit was moot because DOGE was no longer a centralized entity.
She did not issue a final remedy.
- Who
- Judge Denise Cote ruled against the Office of Personnel Management. The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of unions.
- What
- OPM unlawfully shared sensitive federal worker data with DOGE, the judge ruled.
- When
- The ruling was released on Tuesday; the article was published on October 22, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- Cote said the government did not credibly explain why DOGE needed access to the data.
Union coalition
OPM and the Department of Justice
Need for access
Union coalition
The union coalition challenged DOGE’s access to private information.
OPM and the Department of Justice
The Justice Department argued DOGE agents needed sensitive data for workforce modernization efforts.
Legality and purpose
Union coalition
The lawsuit challenged the sharing of private information.
OPM and the Department of Justice
The government argued the access supported DOGE’s work and that the case was moot because DOGE was no longer centralized.
A coalition of unions filed a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s access to private information.
DOGE agents had access to sensitive OPM data.
Judge Denise Cote released a ruling finding OPM had violated federal law.
- Judge
- Denise Cote
- Law
- Privacy Act of 1974
- Affected people
- Tens of millions of federal employees, applicants and retirees
- DOGE data access
- Since September 2025
- Lawsuit filed
- February 2025
What people are saying
The defendants barely defend its legality, relying instead on what has happened since to argue that the case is moot and that prospective relief is unnecessary
These databases don’t talk to each other
And that’s really the source of, that’s the biggest vulnerability for fraud, is the fact that these databases don’t talk to each other.