Court Rules OPM's Data Disclosure to DOGE Was Unlawful

A federal court in New York has definitively ruled that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) violated the law when it handed over millions of federal employee records to DOGE agents. The summary judgment was issued on October 20, 2026.

The court found that OPM breached two provisions of the Privacy Act: one that restricts the disclosure of personal records between agencies, and another that requires agencies to safeguard the security and confidentiality of those records.

What the court decided

"By virtue of the Court's summary judgment ruling, OPM's decision to grant DOGE Agents broad access to its systems of recordings containing [personally identifiable information] has been held unlawful," wrote Judge Denise Cote. She added that nothing in the record supported the claim that a modernization agenda was what drove OPM to give a score of DOGE agents such sweeping and expedited access to its systems holding personal data.

OPM maintains databases of highly sensitive personal information about tens of millions of federal employees, retirees, and job applicants. Starting in January 2025, it began disclosing this data to the U.S. DOGE Service, led by Elon Musk. The plaintiffs argued the move violated the federal Privacy Act of 1974, a landmark anti-surveillance statute meant to prevent the government from abusing people's personal information.

What comes next

Since the case was filed, many DOGE agents have left government and OPM has rescinded their database access. Even so, the plaintiffs argue the agency still has to clean up the cybersecurity mess it created. The court will decide the remedy—what OPM must actually do—at a later date.

EFF brought the suit against OPM and DOGE on behalf of federal employee unions—the American Federation of Government Employees and the Association of Administrative Law Judges—along with individual employees. The plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Source: EFF Deeplinks