WASHINGTON, D.C. —  A New York federal district court judge has ordered the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to release the names of the DOGE agents involved in the illegal disclosure of personnel records.

“We are pleased the court found that the public at large, including the millions of  federal employees impacted, have a right to know who unlawfully accessed their personal information,” said Andrew Warren, deputy legal director for Democracy Defenders Fund. "Those involved in this deeply troubling incident, can no longer remain in the shadows. There will be transparency, and there will be accountability.”

In February 2025, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Lex Lumina LLP, Democracy Defenders Fund, and The Chandra Law Firm filed a lawsuit against OPM and DOGE alleging that OPM and OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell illegally disclosed personnel records to DOGE agents in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the federal Privacy Act of 1974, which limits the government’s ability to disclose and misuse sensitive personal information. In addition to seeking to permanently block any further disclosure of OPM data to DOGE, the lawsuit asks for the deletion of any data previously disclosed by OPM to DOGE.

"Federal employees and the public deserve to know who violated the privacy rights of hard working Americans, and today, the court agreed," said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. "OPM's disclosure of employees' personal data to DOGE operatives was unlawful, and this ruling makes clear that those responsible cannot hide behind this administration's curtain of secrecy. AFGE will continue to fight to protect the rights and personal information of our members and all federal employees who keep this country running."

Last June, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted a preliminary injunction, finding that OPM’s broad grant of access to DOGE agents was a “gross departure from its obligations under the Privacy Act as well as its longstanding cybersecurity practices.”

The case was filed on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO; the Association of Administrative Law Judges, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Judicial Council 1, AFL-CIO; and individual current and former government workers across the country.

#          #          #

Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.